M I  ARTS 
SPIADFAST 


^iSm^MB  MOFFAT 


OF  TH^^ 

OF        . 
CALIFOK^^-^ 


HEARTS  STEADFAST 


HEARTS  STEADFAST 


BY 

EDWARD  S.  MOFFAT 

Author  of  "The  Desert  and  Mrs.  Ajax,"  "The  Misadventures 
of  Cassidy,"  "The  Highgrader,"  and  other  stories. 


NEW  YORK 

MOFFAT,  YARD  &  COMPANY 

1915 


Copyright,  1915 
By  MOFFAT,  YARD  &  COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved 


PART  ONE 
THE  EAST 


r^'  ^  viyvj   jst  *  "<fc  ^ 


HEARTS  STEADFAST 

CHAPTER  I 

IT  was  yet  a  little  while  to  dawn  when  Alva 
woke.  For  a  time  she  lay  among  her 
tumbled  coverings,  luxuriously  inert,  lazily 
trying  to  piece  the  night's  phantasms  together 
and  doze  back  into  a  repetition  of  her  dreams. 
But  the  sun  was  soon  streaming  in  beside  her 
bed,  blocking  out  the  cool,  green  matting  on  her 
floor  with  bars  of  yellow  light  and,  as  the  call 
of  the  waves  along  the  shore  came  stronger,  her 
body  grew  restive  with  life.  Pushing  herself 
upright  on  a  boyishly  muscled  arm,  with  the 
dark  rope  of  her  hair  tumbling  across  her 
breast,  the  girl  sat  looking  out  of  her  window 
at  the  golden  crescent  of  the  beach  and  the 
still,  lavender  waters  of  the  Sound. 

Everywhere  blessed  sunlight  gleamed  back 
at  her — from  yellow  shingle  with  its  myriad, 
glinting  pebbles — from  pillared  cottage  and 
dazzling  window  pane — from  her  canoe,  up- 


2  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

turned  on  the  grass — from  a  wheeling  gull  and 
a  snowy  sail  far  down  the  shore.  And  against 
the  pierhead  at  the  end  of  the  walk  the  forever 
lapping  waves  were  whispering,  whispering. 
Like  herself,  the  world  was  silent,  but  it  was 
awake. 

Impetuously  she  tossed  off  her  coverings  and 
slipped  into  the  bathing  suit  laid  out  on  the 
chair  beside  her  bed.  A  moment  spent  inspect- 
ing a  rounded  knee  she  had  bruised  on  the  court 
the  day  before  and  another  in  which  to  knot  her 
rubber  cap  tighter  about  her  head  and  she  was 
ready.  She  was  young,  she  was  strong,  she 
was  exuberantly  well — the  song  of  the  sea  was 
humming  in  her  veins — wherefore  she  would 
steal  forth  into  this  silent,  sunlit  world  and 
have  her  glorious  swim.  At  the  head  of  the 
stairs  she  hesitated  for  sounds  from  her 
father's  room  which  would  say  that  he,  too,  was 
awake;  but,  hearing  nothing,  padded  softly 
down  with  silken  feet  and  sped  away  towards 
the  pier,  thrilled  with  the  dewy  freshness  of 
the  grass.  Looking  back  at  the  shuttered  cot- 
tages and  the  bulk  of  the  hotel  she  was  glad  to 
see  only  a  gardener  with  his  hose,  pottering 
about  a  lawn.  For  in  this  wonderful,  secret 
hour  the  girl  wanted  nothing  so  much  as  com- 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  3 

plete  freedom  from  restraint — to  double  the  de- 
licious tremors  of  the  plunge  by  being  quite 
alone — to  practice  her  "jack-knife''  and  "back- 
dive''  and  "trudgeon"  to  her  heart's  content, 
untroubled  by  critical  male  eyes. 

From  all  of  which  it  may  be  truthfully  sur- 
mised that  Miss  Alva  Leigh  was  pretty  nearly 
just  what  she  seemed,  outwardly,  to  be — a  per- 
fectly normal,  well  cared-for  young  person  of 
twenty-two,  with  no  worldly  troubles  whatever, 
a  very  definite  love  of  sport  and  a  correspond- 
ingly strong  dislike  for  strenuous  mental  effort 
or  futile  self-analysis  at  any  time.  In  fact. 
Miss  Alva  Leigh  preferred  to  analyze  life  just 
as  infrequently  as  possible,  for  it  very  fortun- 
ately happened  that  her  days  were  too  thronged 
with  the  joys  of  living  to  miss  one  jot  of  it  by 
mulling  over  anything  which  had  gone  before. 
Just  now,  with  her  senses  pleasantly  clouded 
with  sleep,  her  mind  seemed  hardly  to  be  a 
place  of  thoughts  at  all  but,  rather,  an  amusing 
collection  of  fleeting  impressions — a  sense  of 
springy  turf  beneath  her  feet,  of  sweet  odors 
from  vine  and  flower-bed,  of  a  grateful  sun 
that  tingled  on  her  neck,  of  swift,  exultant 
limbs  that  bore  her  seaward.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  only  one  thought  occurred  to  her  with  any 


4  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

marked  distinctness  in  this  pleasantly  pagan 
state  and  this  one  came  just  as  she  stood  poised 
on  the  pierhead,  a  momentary  prey  to  the  de- 
lightful qualms  which  always  preceded  the 
plunge.  Flitting  into  her  mind  from  some  ir- 
responsible source,  its  extravagance  made  her 
laugh  out  loud  as  she  swung  her  arms  above 
her  head. 

"This  must  be  the  way  a  person  feels  just 
after  a  person  has  been  married,''  thought 
Alva.  And  then,  with  a  perfect,  arching  dive, 
was  in. 

The  day  was  never  properly  begun  for  this 
strenuously  athletic  young  person  unless  she 
touched  bottom  in  her  plunge.  But  this  morn- 
ing a  good  twenty  feet  of  clear,  green  water 
lay  above  the  sand  and  she  saw,  as  quickly  as 
she  opened  her  eyes,  that  she  would  have  to 
fight  to  win.  As  she  drove  downwards  with 
even,  powerful  strokes  she  wished  she  had 
taken  a  deeper  breath. 

At  fifteen  feet,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
Alva  began  to  feel  distressed.  A  yard  or  so 
deeper  and  she  seemed  to  have  got  into  the 
clutch  of  a  giant  hand,  with  his  iron  fingers 
digging  in  her  ears.  Her  strokes  slackened 
for  a  moment  as  the  pain  mounted  in  her  chest. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  5 

She  saw  the  far-off,  murky  bottom  first  stand 
still  and  then  recede.  And  then,  while  every 
physical  call  was  for  air  and  relief  from  this 
intolerable  pain,  from  somewhere  came  a  de- 
termination to  conquer  in  what  she  had  set  out 
to  do — a  curious,  steadily  hardening  anger 
which  seemed  to  make  a  personal  enemy  of  the 
invisible  foe  and  only  grow  the  stronger  and 
blinder  the  more  it  was  opposed.  Putting  out 
the  last  ounce  of  her  strength,  the  girl  drove 
herself  down  again  with  staring  eyes  and  claw- 
ing hands.  She  would  strike  out  until  she 
could  do  no  more — the  rest  would  have  to  take 
care  of  itself.  Unnecessary?  Yes — admit- 
tedly— ^but  in  natures  essentially  simple  both 
faults  and  virtues  are  very  simply  expressed, 
and  it  so  happened  this  morning  that  the  girl 
named  Alva  Leigh  was  helplessly  obeying  her 
nature's  principal  requirement  down  there  be- 
neath the  mist-hung  waters  of  the  Sound. 

At  last  she  touched  and,  with  the  fierce  joy 
of  victory  flaming  in  her  breast,  shot  like  an 
otter  to  the  surface.  The  light  streamed 
through  and  sounds  roared  in  her  ears — she 
was  almost  in  the  air  again.  Then,  suddenly, 
her  head  thudded  violently  against  a  strange 
body  which  was  neither  very  hard  nor  very 


.6  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

soft  but  which  interposed  a  frightening  bar- 
rier between  herself  and  the  precious  air. 
There  was  a  moment  of  awful  panic  and  a 
desperate  effort  to  swim  around  it,  a  confused 
altercation  with  some  legs  which  kicked  at  her, 
then  she  burst  through  into  the  sunlight  di- 
rectly in  front  of  a  crisp,  blonde  head,  two  as- 
tonished blue  eyes  and  a  masculine  mouthful 
of  good,  white  teeth. 

"Hoh!"  laughed  the  mouth,  and  spluttered 
out  an  amazing  quantity  of  salt  water. 

"Hoh!''  responded  Alva  correctly,  and 
choked. 

The  blonde  unknown  thrust  out  a  helping 
hand. 

"I  say!  I  hope  I  didn't  hurt  you,"  he  panted. 
"I  didn't  mean  to  get  in  your  way,  you  know. 
Never  knew  you  were  there.  Not  crippled? 
You're  sure?" 

"Not  a  bit,"  smiled  Alva,  though  her  heart 
still  thudded.  ''Much  obliged  for  the  lift. 
You  can  let  go  now."  And,  turning  over  on 
her  back,  she  half  swam,  half  floated  back  to 
the  pier. 

Yellow  Head  followed  at  a  discreet  distance, 
masking  very  perceptible  interest  with  con- 
cern. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  7 

'1  say!  Wasn't  that  beastly  stupid  of  me?" 
he  called.  '1  do  wish  I  were  sure  you're  not 
hurt." 

*'Oh,  no.  It  was  quite  all  my  own  fault," 
Alva  assured  him  as  she  climbed  up.  Then, 
feeling  a  little  done  up,  she  sat  down  on  the 
pier  bench  and  helplessly  watched  him  ap- 
proach— such  a  very  big  young  man  that  she 
feared  he  would  never  stop  coming  up  the  lad- 
der. 

A  pair  of  long  and  capably  muscled  arms — 
a  small  and  well  shaped  head  of  the  familiar 
New  England  type,  with  faintly  prominent 
cheek-bones,  clean  cut  jaw  and  ears  close  set 
— ^legs  not  too  straight  nor  calves  too  thick — 
a  barrel  of  a  chest.  As  he  straightened  up  she 
saw  that  his  big  back  muscles  made  him  v- 
Bhaped  from  the  waist  up  and  knew  that  here, 
at  last,  was  some  one  who  could  paddle  a  canoe. 
He  might  have  been  termed  good-looking  too, 
but  after  all  his  best  feature  was  his  wide,  good 
natured  mouth,  which  promptly  broke  into  a 
cheerful  grin.  Yellow  Head  stuck  out  an  im- 
pulsive hand. 

"Awfully  sorry  all  over  again,"  this  pleas- 
antly informal  person  said,  with  an  infectious 
laugh.     "I  was  down  there  scouting  around 


8  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

for  a  pin  I  lost  there  yesterday.  Must  have 
been  down  two  minutes  or  more — that's  why  I 
didn't  see  you.  Ought  to  have  known  better 
than  to  trust  that  pin  to  a  flimsy  old  suit  like 
mine,"  he  gloomed. 

''Fraternity?"  Alva  hazarded. 

"Yes,"  he  nodded.  "Beta  Chi.  Columbia. 
Oh,  yes.  I  forgot.  My  name's  Jaffray.  I'm 
down  here  with  Bunk  Higgins.  You  know 
Bunk  and  Natalie,  of  course  ?  Bunk  thinks  he 
can  play  the  royal  game  of  tennis  and  I  came 
down  yesterday  to  show  him  the  error  of  his 
ways.  You  play,  I  know — I've  heard  all  about 
it.  I'll  bet  you  play  a  slashing  game.  Will 
you  play  with  me?  We'll  sweep  the  courts  if 
you  do,"  he  assured  her  with  fetching  confi- 
dence. "Oh — say!  Is  that  your  canoe? 
Fine!  Fine!  Just  give  me  a  paddle,  please, 
and  watch  me  skim  you  across  the  Sound !" 

There  didn't  seem  to  be  any  perceptible  break 
in  Yellow  Head's  enthusiasms  and  his  tongue 
was  delightfully  free.  Alva  felt  both  at- 
tracted and  amused. 

"Play  golf,  of  course?  What's  your  best 
drive?  A  hundred  and  eighty — ninety  f 
Bully !  Oh,  yes,"  he  admitted  at  her  question. 
"I'm  a  little  bit  at  it,  myself,  but  no  great 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  9 

shakes.  It  hasn't  got  the  punch.  Baseball, 
football  and  track — those  are  my  games — and 
tennis." 

His  roving  eye  seized  on  the  garage  behind 
the  house  as  they  neared  the  land  end  of  the 
pier.  *'Car,  too !"  he  chortled.  ''Bet  you  drive 
it  yourself.  Alas!  No  hideous  luxury  like 
that  in  mine.  Tve  got  to  find  my  gold  mine 
first.  Let's  walk  and  save  the  gasoline.  Now, 
don't  forget  about  that  tennis,  will  you?"  he 
insisted  with  delicious  self-confidence.  "Half- 
past  ten  might  prove  the  significant  hour. 
You  and  I  against  Bunk  and  Natalie — or  that 
good  sport  Sally  Lowe-girl,  what?  You  lure 
them  on  to  their  fate  over  the  'phone  and  I'll 
come  shyly  along  with  reluctant  feet.  Good!" 
he  said  firmly,  before  she  could  either  accede 
or  decline.  "That's  the  stuff!  Mum's  the 
word.     We'll  make  'em  howl.     Good-by." 

He  left  her,  this  irrepressible  young  giant, 
with  a  painfully  fervent  grip  of  his  big  hand 
and  another  of  his  engaging  grins  and  struck 
out  on  a  run  for  the  Higgins  cottage  down  the 
beach.  For  a  hundred  yards  or  more  he 
jogged  along  over  the  tarred  pavement  and 
then  charged  over  impetuously  onto  the  soft 
lawn  where  he  stretched  his  long  legs  in  an 


lo  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

amazing  burst  of  speed.  Just  when  Alva  had 
firmly  decided  to  watch  this  attractive  person 
no  longer  he  brought  up  at  the  Higgins  steps, 
looked  back,  laughed  and,  very  disconcertingly, 
waved  his  hand. 

The  girl  colored  faintly,  just  a  little  doubt- 
ful as  to  the  good  taste  of  the  salute.  The  dis- 
creet youths  who  came  down  to  Madison  each 
year  from  the  colleges  all  beautifully  turned 
out  from  the  same  correct  mold  would  have 
been  most  careful  of  that.  And  yet  something 
told  her  that  here  was  a  good  deal  more  than 
the  usual  mild  appeal  of  collegiate  enthusiasms 
— something  refreshingly  untamed,  a  little 
more  creative  than  discretion.  And  so,  be- 
cause she  and  the  unknown  had  probably 
broken  all  known  records  for  making  acquaint- 
ance and  because,  in  the  second  place,  she 
couldn't  help  it,  she  waved  a  faint  return. 

An  hour  later  Alva  came  down  to  breakfast. 
Still  glowing  from  her  vigorous  rub,  fresh, 
starry-eyed  and  all  in  white  down  to  her  red 
soled  tennis  shoes  she  was  the  very  picture  of 
physical  efficiency,  a  modern  Atalanta  ready 
for  a  happy  day.  Yet,  as  she  passed  through 
the  big  living-room  which  fronted,  one  way,  on 
the  vivid  green  of  the  lawns  and,  the  other  way. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  ii 

on  the  sparkling  miles  of  the  Sound  she  ran  a 
housekeeper's  eye  over  floor  and  furniture,  for 
Alva  had  been  motherless  even  before  she  went 
to  Farmington  to  school  and  the  girl  was  mis- 
tress in  her  father's  house. 

But  the  maids  had  done  their  work  and  there 
was  little  of  which  she  might  complain — she 
could  only  give  a  re-arranging  touch  to  a  book 
or  a  table  cover  here  and  there.  And  so  she 
presently  paused  and  gave  up  a  moment  to 
quiet  enjoyment  of  the  pretty  room  with  its 
gay  coverings  of  flowered  chintz,  its  cool  grass 
rugs  and  summery  wicker  furniture. 

There  was  not  a  great  deal  in  the  room,  al- 
though one  knew  there  might  have  been.  The 
confidence  with  which  the  big  red  bowl  sat 
boldly  alone  on  top  of  the  black  walnut  book- 
case, the  unadorned  grace  of  the  two,  slim, 
silver  vases  on  the  mantel-shelf,  the  conceded 
unmodernity  of  the  half  dozen  hunting  prints 
on  the  walls,  were  simply  assurances  of  the 
ability  to  do  much  more,  if  it  were  thought 
worth  while.  Even  the  easy  chair  in  which  the 
girl  loved  to  see  her  father  sit  at  night  with  the 
light  from  his  reading  lamp  making  a  cameo  of 
his  delicate  profile  was  not  obtrusively  an  ar- 
ticle of  luxury.    That,  too,  had  its  air  of  con- 


12  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

tented  freedom  from  nouveau  riche  require- 
ments. If  the  Leigh  easy  chair  had  been  mor- 
tal it  would  probably  have  been  a  duke,  un- 
embarrassed in  old  clothes. 

It  must  be  conceded  here  that  it  had  never 
before  occurred  to  Alva  to  value  the  material 
surroundings  of  her  father's  life  and  hers. 
Doubtless  this  was  because  they  were  so  wholly 
satisfying.  There  was  always  plenty  of 
money — she  bought  practically  whatever  she 
wanted — like  so  many  other  things  which  made 
up  her  happy,  rather  thoughtless  existence  she 
accepted  all  these  comforts  without  concern 
either  as  to  their  source  or  their  significance. 
Some  people,  of  course,  would  have  termed  this 
selfishness  but  the  fact  of  the  matter  merely 
was  that,  so  far,  there  had  been  no  occasion 
for  any  deep,  dark  investigation  into  life. 
When  everything  is  given  you  and  life  is 
pleasant,  why  investigate?  In  the  same  way, 
Alva  was  never  at  much  pains  to  arrange  her 
social  affairs — they  seemed,  somehow,  always 
to  adjust  themselves.  Social  chasms,  when 
they  occasionally  interposed  between  herself 
and  casual  acquaintances,  were  detected  more 
often  by  instinct  than  by  thoughtful  analysis. 
She  was,  in  fact,  simply  a  girl  of  splendidly 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  13 

quick  appreciations — not  morbidly  thin  skinned 
but  only  of  that  fine  nature  which  feels  dis- 
tinctions intuitively — as  if  all  the  senses  drank 
them  in  instead  of  only  two — and  she  lived  her 
life  gracefully  and  easily  by  a  sort  of  preor- 
dained knack  of  doing  only  the  right  thing. 

But  this  morning  there  seemed  to  be  some- 
thing in  existence  which  called  for  very  definite 
valuing  and  with  it  came  the  consciousness  that 
the  power  had  suddenly  been  given  her.  It 
was  as  if  she  was  a  school  girl  once  more,  sur- 
prised to  see  an  obstinate  geometrical  proposi- 
tion yielding  up  its  proof — or  as  if  her  opin- 
ions had  been  chemicals  mixed  but  motionless 
in  a  bowl  and  a  shock  had  crystallized  them. 
Once  more  she  looked  around  the  room  and 
for  the  first  time  it  came  over  her  fully  that  she, 
Alva  Leigh,  was  an  exceptionally  fortunate 
young  woman.  In  all  that  made  up  her  life  to- 
day, the  love  of  her  father,  her  circle  of  friends, 
her  worldly  possessions,  whether  they  were 
part  of  the  summer  home  here  at  Madison  or 
the  big  Park  Avenue  house  in  town  there  was 
not  one  that  was  not  utterly  satisfactory — 
nothing  but  the  loveliest  and  best. 

A  great  love  for  life  welled  up  in  the  girl's 
heart.     She  felt  a  sudden  longing  to  fulfill  her 


14  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

duty  to  all  of  this  which  had  so  evidently  been 
given  her  for  some  certain  purpose — a  con- 
sciousness, too,  of  unusual  strength  of  body 
and  will  which  must  be  properly  applied  or  she 
would  waste  the  splendid  gifts  of  which  she 
had  just  now  become  inordinately  proud.  But 
the  means  discernible  on  this  strangely  happy 
summer  morning  were  still  all  too  vague.  In 
spite  of  the  urge  which  radiant  health  and  new 
appreciations  were  giving  her,  Alva,  not  un- 
naturally, could  not  see  much  beyond  the  cus- 
tomary activities  of  a  girl  in  her  position — a 
right  marriage,  children,  good  friends,  a 
properly  balanced  interest  in  those  who  were 
unfortunate.  And  so,  after  a  little  while  the 
moment's  curious  exaltation  passed  away  and 
Alva  was  only  a  vigorous  young  pagan  again, 
with  a  recollecting  smile  for  the  bubbling 
young  giant  of  the  pier  and  a  very  frank  desire 
for  something  to  eat. 

Within  the  breakfast-room  the  percolator 
plupped  contentedly  and  sent  up  little  wisps  of 
steam.  Alva  set  the  toaster  going,  dropping 
the  doors  from  time  to  time  and  turning  the 
golden  slices  over  with  the  tip  of  a  pink  finger. 
Then  she  looked  up  and  smiled  happily  again. 
Sunlight  in  floods,  the  aroma  of  bacon  from  be- 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  15 

hind  pantry  doors,  damask,  silver,  the  packet 
of  letters  and  the  crisply  folded  newspaper  be- 
side her  father's  plate,  the  flat  green  glass  dish 
in  the  center  of  the  table,  where  four  old-rose 
hollyhocks  lay  as  if  dropped  lightly  in  a  pool — 
everything  was  as  it  should  be  on  this  glorious 
morning.  And  outside  on  the  freshly  hosed 
veranda  two  agitated,  curly,  black  retrievers 
whined  for  a  pat  and  clawed  reproachfully  at 
the  screen  door. 

A  step  on  the  stairs  and  in  the  living-room — 
a  deferential  little  pause  at  the  door  where  he 
bowed  *%ood-morning"  with  a  twinkle  in  his 
eye — and  Rutherford  Leigh  sat  down  at  his 
place  and  addressed  himself  to  his  grape-fruit. 
He  was  a  rather  slender,  daintily  dressed  gen- 
tleman, with  a  waxen  skin,  delicate  features, 
white,  pointed  beard  and  noticeably  small 
hands  and  feet — who  always  wore  a  bouton- 
niere  and  always  seemed  quite  cool  and  self- 
possessed.  It  cannot  be  said  that  he  gave  the 
impression  of  very  great  strength  either 
physical  or  mental,  but  when  one  remembered 
that  he  had  been  left  a  fortune  when  he  was  a 
young  man  there  seemed  little  necessity  for 
him  to  be  much  more  than  a  graceful,  pleas- 
antly scholarly  personality  who  might  better 


i6  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

be  appealed  to  in  matters  o£  artistic  taste  than 
business.  To  confirm  this  idea  there  was  the 
testimony  that  Rutherford  Leigh  had  been  a 
good  deal  of  a  traveler  in  his  early  days  and 
had  contributed  several  papers  of  more  or  less 
moment  to  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  al- 
though nowadays  his  activities  were  confined 
to  the  leisurely  collecting  of  rare  prints  which 
he  afterwards  bound  into  his  books.  He  had 
married  Incarnacion  De  la  Fuente,  the  daugh- 
ter of  an  old  Spanish  family  which  had  come 
to  the  United  States  shortly  after  the  Civil  War 
and  had  engaged  profitably  in  exporting.  The 
marriage,  however,  had  not  been  carried  out 
without  considerable  opposition  from  the  De 
la  Fuente  brothers.  People  didn't  know  just 
what  the  objection  had  been  but  Tomas  and 
Antonio  and  Domingo  De  la  Fuente  had  been 
a  unit  in  opposing  it  and  had  not  been  good 
friends  with  Alva's  mother  subsequently.  Of 
the  three  brothers  only  Antonio  now  remained, 
an  exquisitely  polite,  little  brown  wisp  of  a 
man  with  offices  in  a  high  building  down  at 
Bowling  Green,  whence  he  could  see  his  argo- 
sies set  sail,  but  Alva  saw  her  Uncle  'Tonio 
only  infrequently  although  she  knew  he  liked 
her  and  she  liked  him. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  17 

And  so,  when  people  knew  of  the  Puritan 
father  and  the  CastiHan  mother,  it  was  not 
difficult  to  see  that  Alva  Leigh,  while  not  neces- 
sarily a  person  of  contradictions,  might  easily 
have  two  sides  to  her  nature.  She  would  un- 
doubtedly be  quick  to  anger,  like  her  Spanish 
forebears,  and  yet  where  they  would  finally 
have  loosed  their  hold  the  colder  Pilgrim  blood 
would  quietly,  but  just  as  passionately,  keep 
on  striving,  fighting,  most  of  all,  pursuing. 
In  the  girFs  big  dark  eyes  the  fires  of  passion- 
ate romance  smoldered  and  yet,  so  far,  the 
fires  had  been  controlled  by  nerves  as  cool  as 
ice.  Just  now  the  two  natures  were  in  balance 
but  some  day,  perhaps,  would  come  a  sudden 
assault  and  then,  in  the  struggle  for  survival, 
one  of  the  two  would  be  forever  lost. 

"Great  water  this  morning,  Dad !  Touched 
bottom  at  twenty  feet !'' 

"And  no  one  helped?"  her  father  asked 
quizzically,  as  he  folded  his  paper  over  to  the 
stock  reports. 

"Oh,  yes.  A  rather  nice  strange  young  man 
helped — by  nearly  drowning  me." 

"Strange?"  asked  her  father,  who  owned  a 
rare  sense  for  foreign  elements. 

"  'Yes'    and    'No.'     He's    Bunk's    engineer 


i8  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

friend  from  Columbia.  They've  been  talking 
about  him  for  weeks.  Natalie's  sure  we'll  be 
crazy  about  him.  But  he  hasn't  a  penny,  I 
know.  Just  for  that  I  expect  to  play  tennis 
with  him,  violently,  at  half-past  ten." 

Rutherford  Leigh  nodded  abstractedly. 
Having  been  assured  in  this  rather  fragment- 
ary fashion  that  the  somebody  in  question  was 
the  friend  of  somebody  else  and  therefore  prop- 
erly accounted  for,  he  set  his  eye  on  the  stock 
quotations.  Meanwhile  his  hand  went  out  to- 
wards his  coffee  cup. 

It  was  a  fine,  dry,  scholarly  hand,  this  hand 
of  Rutherford  Leigh's,  and  well  kept,  too — an 
almost  feminine  hand,  in  fact,  which  fortu- 
nately or  unfortunately  had  never  done  much 
in  life  except  turn  over,  rather  superciliously, 
records  of  what  other  men  had  created  out 
of  their  blood  and  tears  and  sweat.  This 
thought,  however,  had  never  been  brought 
home  to  Rutherford  Leigh  and  up  to  date  he 
was  well  satisfied  with  life.  Presently  his  deli- 
cate hand,  in  its  leisurely  wanderings,  would 
reach  his  delicate  cup  and  he  would  feel  his 
coffee,  comforting  and  aromatic,  against  his 
lips,  while  he  mused  on  the  course  of  the  market 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  19 

and  let  the  consciousness  of  his  perspicacity 
steal  over  him  with  the  warmth  of  his  drink. 

But,  for  some  unknown  reason,  the  hand  did 
not  immediately  reach  his  cup  this  morning. 
Instead,  it  stopped  in  mid-air,  quivered  and 
then  dropped,  clenched,  on  the  table.  Still, 
it  made  no  noise  and,  for  all  his  daughter  saw, 
Rutherford  Leigh  was  only  centering  his  mind 
acutely  on  something  that  he  read. 

Finding  her  father  presently  too  preoccup- 
pied  to  make  more  than  monosyllabic  replies 
to  her  remarks,  Alva  excused  herself  as  soon 
as  she  had  finished  and  turned  to  the  duties  of 
the  day.  Principally,  these  consisted  in  going 
to  market  in  her  car,  partly  for  the  ride  itself 
and  partly  because  of  the  firm  conviction  that 
green-grocers,  among  rich  cottagers,  were  but 
human.  This,  too,  was  the  hour  in  which  her 
father  read  his  mail  in  a  cool  corner  of  the 
porch  and  where  they  generally  met  to  ex- 
change plans  for  the  day,  so  when  she  had  run 
her  car  back  into  the  garage  a  little  later  she 
was  surprised  not  to  find  him  in  his  accustomed 
place.  Instead,  he  was  sitting  inert  in  a  chair 
on  the  Sound  side  of  the  house,  in  the  full  glare 
of  the  sun.     His  newspaper  was  lying  on  the 


20  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

floor  in  a  heap  and  only  one  of  his  letters  had 
been  opened.  As  she  drew  near  he  folded  it 
shut  and  slipped  it  into  his  pocket. 

"About  that  car  of  mine,  Dad/'  his  daughter 
said.  "IVe  been  sizing  it  up  going  over  the 
bumps  and  I'm  afraid  it  isn't  going  to  stand 
another  year's  racket.  If  I'm  going  to  ex- 
change it  I  think  I'd  better  do  it  right  away. 
The  gasoline  man  over  in  the  village  tells  me 
I  can  get  five  hundred  dollars  on  it  in  a  swap 
and  by  adding  a  thousand — " 

Something  in  her  father's  manner  made  the 
girl  hesitate.  For  once  in  his  life  he  seemed 
curiously  remote  and  troubled. 

"That  would  be  a  very  fair  bargin,  I  should 
say,"  he  answered  in  considerate  but  rather 
lifeless  tones.  "But  are  you  quite  sure  that 
you  really  need  a  new  car?  Not  being  a 
mechanic  or  a  motoring  enthusiast  I  can  only 
ask  that  kind  of  a  question." 

Alva  read  his  mind. 

"It's  too  much  money,"  she  said,  with  quick 
resentment  for  her  sudden  demand.  "I  won't 
spend  it.  Forgive  me  for  ever  speaking  of 
it.  Dad.     I  guess  I  must  be  selfish." 

"No.  You're  not  at  all  selfish,"  her  father 
contradicted  gently.     "But,  since  you've  put  it 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  21 

in  the  light  of  unnecessary  expense  perhaps 
we'd  better  let  it  stay  there — for  a  time.  I 
don't  mind  telling  you  that  owing  to  some — 
er — investments  I  have  lately  made — certain 
business  engagements  I  have  entered  into — 
obligations  which  no  really  honorable  man 
would  shirk — " 

Alva  laid  a  soft  finger  on  his  lips. 

"Not  a  word,  Dad  dear.  You'll  hear  no 
more  from  me  for  months.  And  now  I'm  go- 
ing to  get  ready  for  a  little  tennis  with  the  new 
playmate.     Better  come  watch  me  win!" 

Rutherford  Leigh  smiled  faintly  but  shook 
his  head.  He  kept  the  smile  until  the  sound 
of  the  screen  door  told  him  that  his  daughter 
was  surely  inside.  Then  something  wiped  the 
smile  away.  His  hand  sought  his  pocket.  He 
took  his  letter  out  and  opened  it,  slumping 
down  in  his  chair.  Before  he  had  opened  his 
letter  the  first  time  Rutherford  Leigh  had  been 
a  very  prosperous  looking  man — a  rather  good 
looking  man,  too, — not  very  old  and  certainly 
in  good  physical  preservation.  But  something 
he  had  learned  during  the  past  hour  had 
changed  all  that  and  now,  as  he  sat  shrunken 
in  his  chair,  he  was  like  a  man  whose  physician 
has  definitely  fixed  the  number  of  his  days. 


22  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

He  stared  at  his  letter  and  then  stared  unsee- 
ingly  over  its  top  across  the  featureless  reaches 
of  the  Sound.  It  was  not  a  long  letter  but 
what  it  said  was  very  much  to  the  point,  for  it 
had  been  written  by  the  senior  member  of  the 
firm  of  Hicks  &  Wicks  of  Wall  Street. 

Now,  one  may  buy  stocks  and  salt  them  down 
and  one  may  buy  bonds  for  investment.  Also, 
if  one  has  unlimited  means,  one  may  not  un- 
righteously take  a  little  flyer  for  amusement's 
sake,  but  when  an  elderly  recluse,  who  for  years 
has  been  secretly  living  up  his  capital,  attempts 
the  marginal  buying  of  a  staple  only  one  result 
may  reasonably  be  expected,  even  though  he 
deal  through  specialists.  And  Hicks  &  Wicks 
were  "specialists'* — in  ''Sugar." 


CHAPTER  II 


44 


SCORE  is — forty-love !''  droned  the  official 
scorer,  perched  precariously  on  top  of  his 
stepladder,  and  sighed  with  relief  over  the  im- 
minent end  of  the  finals  in  the  Mixed  Doubles 
Cup.  "Games  are — five-one!  Miss  Leigh 
and  Mr.  Jafifray  leading." 

The  new  playmate  flashed  a  look  of  en- 
couragement at  Alva,  cool  and  determined  on 
the  back  line — grinned  triumphantly  as  her 
serve  skimmed  the  net  like  a  bullet — then 
pounded  a  feeble  return  down  the  side  line 
where  recovery  was  hopeless.  After  which 
victors  and  vanquished  shook  hands  efifusively 
at  the  net  and  Alva  and  Donald,  flushed  and 
smiling,  hastily  sought  places  among  the  War- 
rens and  Lowes  and  Higginses  decorating  the 
grass,  there  to  be  genially  assaulted  by  shrieks 
of: 

"Mughunters !" 

''Oh,  you  Americans  commercialize  every- 
thing!'' 

23 


24  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

"We  don't  see  how  you  have  the  nerve  to 
take  it  r 

But  Alva  only  laughed,  with  shining  eyes, 
and  settled  down  to  cool  out  in  her  big,  white 
coat,  content  to  sit  silent  but  amused  in  part- 
ner-like proximity  while  her  yellow  headed 
champion  ably  defended  their  joint  attach- 
ment of  nearly  every  golf  and  tennis  trophy 
since  the  season  opened. 

To  the  philosophical  observer,  the  bare- 
headed two  in  flannels  with  their  new  cup  be- 
tween them  on  the  grass,  made  only  another 
of  those  diverting  pairs  for  whose  particular 
benefit  our  summer  worlds  seem  to  have  been 
created — a  muscular,  brown-armed  boy  and 
girl,  blissfully  content  in  each  other's  company 
and  fantastically  irresponsible.  For  whom 
houses  exist  merely  to  rest  in  for  a  few  be- 
grudged hours,  servants  to  gather  up  hastily 
changed  garments,  cooks  to  feed  the  fires  of 
energy  and  parents  to  pay  bills — not  always 
in  love  with  one  another,  it's  true,  but  always 
irrepressibly,  amazingly,  gloriously  in  love 
with  life. 

Now,  in  the  pages  of  truly  popular  romance 
the  young  woman  of  this  pair  would  be  gifted 
with  many  and  strange  talents.     Chief  among 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  25 

these  would  be  a  rather  appalHng  determina- 
tion to  marry  the  man  she  wanted.  Our  Hght 
hearted  novelist  would  have  small  concern 
with  the  lady's  ruthlessness  to  friend  or  foe 
in  her  pursuit  if  he  could  only  invest  her  in 
enough  sharp  practice  to  entertain  those  who 
are  entertained  by  that  sort  of  thing.  While 
if  she  happened  to  be  so  priceless  a  character 
as  an  heiress  she  would  be  promptly  written 
down  as  a  kind  of  super-woman,  overcoming 
all  resistances  by  her  cheek  and  her  checkbook. 
Predatory  females  would  be  summarily  driven 
off  and  parents  sturdily  overborne  by  this  de- 
lightful creature,  opportunity  for  the  proposal 
would  be  boldly  provided,  the  helpless  male 
firmly  secured.  Or,  at  least,  so  it  would  read. 
But  Alva  Leigh,  being  steadfast  rather  than 
aggressive  and  essentially  athletic  instead  of 
sentimental,  couldn't  seem  to  do  any  of  these 
things.  She  could  only  enjoy  to  the  utmost 
every  minute  that  she  spent  with  Donald  and, 
when  something  kept  him  away,  wonder 
dumbly  what  she  could  do  with  herself  until 
they  would  be  together  again.  Not  such  a 
strange  situation  for  one  who  has  passed 
through  it  but  quite  strange  enough  for  any 
one  the  first  time  and,  in  Alva's  case,  full  of 


26  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

anguish.  For  Alva  Leigh,  in  her  whole- 
hearted acceptance  of  the  new  playmate,  had 
thought  for  several  weeks  that  she  was  only 
following  love  of  fun — until  fun  unmasked 
and  showed  itself  as  love  of  Donald.  When 
she  realized  this,  and  she  did  not  acknowledge  it 
hastily,  came  a  second  conviction  in  which 
there  was  no  happiness  at  all — nothing,  in  fact, 
but  old  fashioned  despair.  She  thought  she 
saw  that  Donald,  unlike  herself,  was  still  en- 
tirely in  the  thrall  of  Sport — that  he  would 
never  realize  that  she,  who  had  so  suddenly 
learned  the  meaning  of  their  companionship, 
was  standing,  waiting. 

And  so  the  last  week  of  the  boy's  stay  at 
Madison,  with  the  interested  Higgins  family 
and  the  Warrens  and  the  Lowes  and  many 
other  people  unknown  to  the  girl  looking  on, 
became  a  rather  tragic  period  for  Alva.  In 
that  week  everything  seemed  to  go  wrong.  It 
was  not  given  her  to  understand  her  father's 
business  affairs  but  she  realized  now  that  all 
had  not  been  well  with  him  for  some  time  past. 
Rutherford  Leigh  seemed  worried,  even 
shaken.  He  had  lost  his  erect  carriage  and 
the  look  of  placidity  he  had  worn  all  through 
the  years.     He  was  abstracted.     He  forgot  his 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  2y 

flower.  Sometimes  he  was  brusque.  Often 
he  sat  for  hours  slumped  down  in  his  chair  on 
the  porch,  staring  out  over  the  Sound  with  his 
book  closed  on  his  knee.  Or  else  he  spent  his 
days  in  town,  coming  back  on  a  late  evening 
train,  haggard  and  harassed.  Several  times 
the  girl  found  opportunity  to  bring  her  father 
and  Donald  together  but  Rutherford  Leigh 
had  proved  so  disappointingly  uninterested  in 
the  young  man  that  Alva  had  given  up  the 
attempt  with  a  puzzled  feeling  of  hurt. 

But  this  was  not  all  that  had  disturbed  the 
girl  for,  under  the  stress  of  feeling,  she  had 
begun  to  study  Donald  and  to  worry  over  one 
glaring  fault.  It  had  nothing  to  do,  as  it  hap- 
pened, with  his  plans  for  the  future  for,  vague 
as  they  seemed  to  be,  he  must  work  these  out 
for  himself,  nor  had  it  to  do  with  the  gift  he 
would  not  accept  or  else  was  too  blind  to  see. 
Perhaps  it  was  only  a  tendency  at  the  worst 
and  one  that  jealousy  might  be  exaggerating 
but  the  fact  remained  that  Mr.  Donald  Jaffray 
was  very  definitely  lacking  in  an  important 
kind  of  discrimination. 

Even  at  the  most  conservative  resort  the 
idle  months  of  summer  are  the  gay  outlaws  of 
the  social  year  and  it  seemed  to  Alva  as  if  that 


28  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

last  week  filled  Madison  with  every  sort  of  girl 
she  did  not  like.  It  seemed,  too,  as  if  every 
merry-eyed  irresponsible  who  secured  partners 
all  too  quickly  at  the  hotel  dances  or  created  a 
sensation  on  the  beach  contrived  to  interest 
Donald.  In  fact,  he  appeared  to  gravitate 
helplessly  towards  such  women,  as  if  there 
were  some  hereditary  germ  of  social  outlawry 
in  his  blood.  And  yet,  oddly  enough,  when 
the  boy  came  back  to  her  each  time  he  seemed 
to  steady  down  immediately  in  his  apprecia- 
tion of  the  better  kind  of  friends.  In  the  past 
two  days  the  two  had  got  back  on  their  solid 
basis  of  companionship  again  and  Alva  grew 
happier  in  the  belief  that  it  was  only  his  super- 
abundant spirits  that  needed  control. 

But  their  last  evening  together  found  the 
boy  wordless  and  the  girl  distrait  and  sad. 
They  knew  they  had  had  thirty  golden  days 
together  out  of  a  summer  made  wonderful  by 
every  diversion  that  genius  could  invent  and 
now  that  it  was  over  they  were  wondering  if 
this  was  all  that  such  things  meant.  Their 
hearts  were  choked  with  the  poignant  queries 
of  Youth  and  yet  they  were  afraid  to  ask. 
They  could  only  see  that  they  had  grown  in- 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  29 

dispensable  one  to  the  other  and  now  bleak 
parting  loomed  up  ahead. 

Until  a  day  or  so  before  Alva  had  secretly 
cherished  the  hope  that  her  father  might  help 
her  keep  Donald  home  in  the  East.  While, 
of  course,  the  boy  must  never  know,  it  seemed 
so  easy  to  arrange  with  some  old  business 
friend  for  a  position  to  be  offered  him — such 
things  had  been  done  for  many  a  man  she  knew. 
So  far  as  Alva  could  see,  a  mining  engineer 
could  just  as  profitably  mine  chalk  as  gold  if 
a  position  were  made  for  him.  But,  after  her 
first  discouraging  attempt  to  enlist  her  father's 
help  the  girl's  better  judgment  came  to  her 
rescue.  The  fact  was,  Donald  was  not  yet 
ready  to  be  helped.  There  was  too  much  that 
he  must  first  work  off,  too  many  vague  the- 
ories, inconsequent  ideas,  slack  habits,  too  much 
of  the  young  Adam.  It  would  take  time  and 
perhaps  a  little  adversity  to  burn  them  away 
but  in  the  end  he  would  be  a  bigger,  cleaner 
man  for  it. 

For  a  while  they  tried  to  dance  in  the  half 
empty  ballroom  of  the  hotel  but  found  it  curi- 
ously unamusing.  Thoughts  of  the  morning 
weighed  too  heavily  on  them — too  much  was 


30  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

yet  unsaid.  And  so,  exchanging  unspoken 
consent,  they  left  the  lights  and  the  blaring 
music  and  wandered  in  melancholy  fashion 
down  towards  the  pier.  There  a  moonless 
night  wrapped  them  round  with  its  velvet  pall. 
Except  for  a  vague  shape  stretching  landwards 
to  the  line  of  yellow  lights  along  the  drive  they 
might  have  been  miles  out  at  sea.  A  bench 
was  there  and  they  sat  down.  After  a  time 
Donald  spoke. 

''Do  you  know,"  he  said,  "youVe  been  aw- 
fully good  to  me — you  and  your  father  and 
your  friends.  IVe  had  the  one  wonderful  time 
of  my  life  this  summer  and  I  think  you  know 
already  how  profoundly  grateful  I  feel.  It 
makes  me  wonder  sometimes  if  you'd  be  in- 
terested in  knowing  the  kind  of  work  I'll  have 
to  do  after  I  leave  here — and  where  Til  be." 

'"I'd  like  to  know,"  the  girl  responded.  That 
was  all  she  could  say.  It  was  as  she  had 
feared.     He  would  never  see. 

"I  have  to  make  some  money — quick,"  the 
boy  went  on  soberly.  "I  haven't  any  now,  as 
I  guess  you  know.  All  I  own  is  my  brain  and 
my  hands.  So  I've  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  my  best  game  is  to  get  into  metal  mining 
somewhere  in  the  West.     That's  what  I've 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  31 

been  messing  around  with  at  college  and  al- 
though I  just  squeaked  through  I've  learned 
enough  to  make  me  see  the  big  chances  there 
are  in  it.  Of  course,  I  could  stick  around  here 
in  the  East  and  get  into  coal  mining  or  some- 
thing like  that  but,  from  what  I  can  see,  there 
wouldn't  be  any  money  in  it  for  years  and 
years.  Salaries  are  too  low.  There  are  too 
many  anxious  young  engineers. 

''On  the  other  hand,  if  I  go  west,  there's 
always  the  chance  that  I'll  strike  it  rich.  Out 
there,  I  guess,  there's  a  temptation  to  settle 
down  in  the  rut  just  as  there  is  here  and  that's 
what  I've  got  to  fight.  If  I  get  into  a  big, 
established  camp  like  Butte  or  Bingham  or 
Cripple  Creek  it  will  probably  mean  much  the 
same  kind  of  a  beastly  grind  as  if  I  were  stuck 
off  in  a  coal  town  somewhere  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania hills.  But — the  little  camps !  The  new 
camps.  The  desert!  The  places  where  fel- 
lows haven't  been!  That's  where  the  big 
chances  are!  Why — I  might  be  able  to  find 
something  inside  of  six  months  that  would 
put  me  on  my  feet  forever!  I  haven't  a  doubt 
that  I  can  make  just  as  good  pay  in  a  new  camp 
as  in  one  ten  years  old — and  think  of  the 
chances  I'd  have !     Don't  you  agree  with  me  ?" 


32  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

"I  don't  know/'  the  girl  answered,  miser- 
ably. She  wrapped  her  scarf  around  her 
throat  and  stared  out  over  the  dark  water. 
All  men  were  alike,  it  seemed.  They  thought 
of  nothing  but  their  work — just  as  if  work 
were  the  chief  end  of  existence.  Life!  Why 
were  they  always  forgetting  that?  Did  they 
think  there  was  no  art  or  honor  in  simply  liv- 
ing? Wasn't  there  just  as  much  credit  in 
bringing  another  person  happiness  as  in  fight- 
ing the  world  for  years,  making  her  wait  and 
suffer  while  you  were  getting  rid  of  some 
wrong-headed  idea  that  wouldn't  have  harmed 
you  if  you'd  stayed  at  home?  There  were 
always  people  willing  to  do  the  rough  work  on 
the  outposts  of  the  world — who  seemed  to 
choose  the  line  of  greatest  resistance  out  of 
sheer  perversity.  Let  these  people  solve  the 
problems,  if  they  must  be  solved.  Let  Donald 
stay  here.  The  problems  would  not  be  fewer. 
They  would  only  be  lesser  in  degree. 

Poor  Alva!  Struggling  with  the  question 
that  woman  can  never  answer.  Rebelling 
against  the  resistless  urge  of  the  creative  in 
man — the  call  of  the  forest  uncut,  the  stream 
unforded,  the  shaft  undug,  the  trail  unbroken 
— the  lure  of  the  Open,  the  Unknown,  the  great 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  33 

god  Chance!  Millions  like  her  had  rebelled 
and  millions  were  still  to  lift  their  plaint. 
For  it  was  as  plain  to  her  as  to  her  uncounted 
sisters  that  there  were  always  stark,  loveless 
souls  who  could  easily  be  the  pioneers.  And  if 
the  tremendous  work  were  not  finished  to-day, 
why  worry?  The  world  would  not  immedi- 
ately pass  away.  In  the  meantime  at  least  two 
people  might  be  happy. 

"I  don't  want  you  to  misunderstand  me,'' 
the  boy  continued  presently.  "I  only  want  you 
to  know  this — that  I  will  take  any  chance — go 
anywhere — do  anything  to  succeed.  You  may 
think  that  I  want  the  life  out  west  for  the  ex- 
citement but  I  don't.  I  only  see  that  there's 
something  out  there  in  those  hills  that  I'm 
going  to  wrench  away.  I  think  the  reason 
why  more  men  don't  get  what  they  want  in 
life  IS  because  they  don't  dare  enough.  If 
they'd  only  put  everything  they  owned  on  one 
big  gamble  and  push  it  through,  they'd  win. 
Perhaps  you  think  I'm  reckless  but  it's  reck- 
lessness with  a  purpose.  I'm  simply  going  to 
go  and  go  until  I  find  it  or  else  drop." 

Alva  raised  her  head,  surprised.  This 
wasn't  what  she'd  thought  he  had  in  mind. 
Until  now  he'd  seemed  only  a  magnificently 


34  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

lovable,  big  boy  but  here  was  a  plan  as  practi- 
cal as  could  be  and  she  knew  his  bravery  would 
see  him  through.  It  was  a  new  light  which 
the  last  few  words  had  thrown  on  his  purposes. 
She  saw  him  at  last  as  a  grown  man  and  she 
loved  him  the  more  for  her  surprise.  If  there 
had  been  any  doubt  as  to  his  ability  to  cut  his 
way  through  to  success  it  had  been  dissipated 
by  his  simple  statement  of  the  chances  which 
she  knew  undoubtedly  existed,  no  less  than  by 
his  determination  to  keep  on  till  he  found  what 
he  sought.  It  was  a  revelation  in  one  way 
for  Alva  but,  in  another,  it  made  her  more 
miserable  than  before.  The  fact  that  he'd 
carefully  withheld  his  plans  till  now  was  only 
one  more  proof  that  his  summer  had  never 
been  as  full  of  herself  as  hers  had  been  full 
of  him.  She  felt  again  that  women  knew  men 
little  better  than  men  knew  women.  The 
world  might  say  that,  to  a  woman,  a  man's 
mind  was  an  open  book  but  it  seemed  to  the 
girl  staring  out  into  the  darkness  that  it  was 
more  frequently  a  secret  chamber  into  which 
he  callously  withdrew  for  his  own  purposes — 
against  whose  iron  door  sweet  intrusion  could 
batter  her  soft  hands  to  no  avail.  And  so 
Donald's  careful  elaboration  of  his  plans  fell 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  35 

upon  deaf  ears.  Only  two  things  were  per- 
fectly clear  to  Alva.  He  didn't  love  her  and 
— to-morrow  he  was  going  away.  What  else 
mattered  ? 

She  stole  a  look  at  him  through  the  dark- 
ness for  she  knew  he  could  not  see  her  brim- 
ming eyes.  He  had  dropped  into  silence  and 
was  staring  dumbly  ahead  of  him  as  she  had 
stared.  There  was  no  moon  and  though  they 
sat  with  shoulders  nearly  touching  she  could 
distinguish  only  the  faint  outlines  of  his  figure. 
Yet  she  knew  well  how  he  looked — the  crisp, 
blond  head,  the  flashing  smile,  the  frank, 
strong  eyes.  The  softly  luminous  shirt  bosom 
and  white  waistcoat  of  his  dress  clothes  made 
her  see  again  his  big  shoulders  and  small  waist 
— she  pictured  him  from  head-top  down  to  silk 
shod  feet  and  there  was  nothing  she  would 
have  added  to  or  taken  away.  Yet  she  who 
had  always  had  everything  she  wanted  till  she 
wanted  the  one  thing  that  made  everything 
else  of  no  value  had  to  sit  there  wordless,  with 
happiness  only  an  arm's  length  away,  and  feel 
her  heart  turning  into  stone  inside  her. 

Going  away !  To-morrow  he  would  be  gone. 
She  turned  away  from  him  on  the  bench  and 
clenched  her  hidden  hands.     Far  out  on  the 


36  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

dark  waters  a  Sound  boat  whistled  hoarsely. 
''Oi-Oi-Oi!  He's  going  away — away!"  An 
ice  cold  mist  stole  landwards  and  seemed  to 
chill  her  soul  and  body.  She  shivered, 
drowned  in  misery. 

And  so  she  was  unaware,  for  a  moment,  of 
an  arm  that  crept  towards  her  along  the  back 
of  the  bench.  And  she  had  no  ears,  at  first, 
for  a  whisper  or  sense  of  a  hand  that  groped 
for  hers  and  found  it  clenching  her  dress. 

^'Alva,"  said  a  voice.  "IVe  been  trying  not 
to  tell  you  but  I  can't  stand  it  any  longer.  I 
haven't  any  right  to  tell  you  even  now  for 
I've  nothing  to  offer  except  myself  but  if  you 
ever  think  of  me  when  I'm  gone  you'll  know 
I'm  working  harder  and  longer  because  you 
let  me  say  it  just  this  once." 

The  girl's  heart  gave  one  great  throb,  then 
seemed  to  stop  its  beating.  She  sat  without 
moving.  What  kind  of  mad  dream  was  this? 
If  she  were  really  conscious  then  the  impos- 
sible had  begun  to  happen. 

And  yet  a  hand  was  crushing  one  of  hers 
— was  lifting  it  steadily,  strongly  to  his  lips. 
An  arm  was  stealing  about  her  shoulders — an 
arm  that  would  not  be  denied  but  drew  her, 
trembling,  nearer  and  nearer, — till  she  lifted 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  37 

her  head  and  saw  his  eyes.  And  then  light 
and  life  and  the  happiness  that  never  was  to 
have  been  hers  flooded  into  her  soul.  She 
broke  into  a  sob  in  his  arms.    Their  lips  met. 


CHAPTER  III 

ABOUT  two  weeks  after  Donald  Jaffray 
left  Madison  for  Salt  Lake  City  some 
white  haired  and  wealthy  gentlemen  connected 
with  the  sugar  industry  came  to  the  depressing 
conclusion  that  business  conditions  were  very, 
very  bad  and  that  they  ought  to  sell  some 
stock. 

In  fact,  they  were  so  completely  convinced 
that  people  would  presently  stop  eating  sugar 
that  they  said  they  were  going  to  keep  their 
conclusions  perfectly  secret,  which  naturally 
resulted  in  a  widespread  selling  movement. 
But  after  sugar  had  retrograded  to  the  lowest 
point  in  years  conditions  suddenly  improved 
— overnight.  The  white  haired  old  gentle- 
men, without  a  trace  of  a  smile,  advised  each 
other  that  they  must  have  been  badly  mistaken. 
Whereupon  Sugar  executed  a  right-about-face 
and  went  up  like  a  rocket.  The  Leigh  for- 
tune, however,  came  down  like  the  stick. 

There  is  not  a  great  deal  of  difference,  it 
38 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  39 

sometimes  seems,  between  the  loss  of  a  fortune 
and  a  death  in  the  family.  Friends  and  rela- 
tives come  to  condole — a  few  wonder  vaguely 
if  there  is  anything  they  can  ''do''  and,  being 
informed  in  the  negative,  are  vastly  relieved 
— those  of  a  speculative  turn  of  mind  spend 
long  hours  estimating  the  effect  of  the  shock 
on  various  members  of  the  family — the  world, 
at  large,  keeps  carefully  out  of  the  way  so  as 
to  spare  itself. 

At  first,  of  course,  there  was  a  great  deal 
of  sympathy  for  Rutherford  Leigh  as  well  as 
for  the  girl  who  had  once  had  everything. 
People  said  he  must  have  been  very  b^dly  ad- 
vised and  didn't  quite  see  how  he  hadrpanaged 
to  lose  it  ''all."  When  they  learned^  there- 
fore, that  the  Leigh  fortune  had  been,  for 
years,  only  a  steadily  dwindling  shell  Ruther- 
ford Leigh  took  on  his  true  proportions  in  their 
eyes.  Men  dismissed  him  with  a  sniff  because 
he  was  weak  and  a  fool.  The  women,  being 
more  practical,  regarded  him  with  uncon- 
cealed abhorrence  because  he  had  secretly 
lived  up  as  well  as  gambled  away  his  daugh- 
ter's inheritance. 

In  this  state  of  things  there  is  small  wonder 
that  Alva's  Uncle  Tonio,  down  in  the  city,  was 


40  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

not  able  to  do  much  more  than  assist  in  closing 
up  the  Leigh  affairs.  It  was  very  plain  to  the 
girl  now  that  Antonio  De  la  Fuente  had  always 
regarded  her  father  with  suspicion  and  though 
he  was  kind  to  her  he  was  barely  courteous  to 
her  father  in  all  that  had  to  be  done  in  clear- 
ing up  the  muss.  There  ensued,  then,  a  heart 
breaking  time  which  extended  into  the  late 
fall.  The  Park  Avenue  property  was  put  on 
the  market  as  quickly  as  possible  and  the  house 
at  Madison,  together  with  Alva's  motor,  was 
sold.  The  Leigh  collections  of  rare  prints  and 
paintings,  books,  netsukes  and  bric-a-brac 
were  auctioned  off  at  one-fifth  their  value. 
Meantime,  provision  had  to  be  made  for  life 
under  the  changed  conditions  and  so  Alva  went 
flat-hunting  for  a  week  and  finally  found  a 
small  apartment  on  the  upper  West  Side  where 
the  ridiculous  inadequacy  of  the  rooms  was 
partly  atoned  for  by  a  hall-boy  and  a  prison- 
cell  view  of  sky  and  river. 

Here  she  took  her  father  and,  for  a  time, 
was  very  well  occupied  in  the  multitude  of  de- 
tails created  by  its  furnishing.  After  that 
many  of  her  friends  came  back  to  town  and 
she  took  up  again,  though  in  restricted  meas- 
ure, the  life  she  had  lived  before  the  debacle. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  41 

Alva's  friends  wondered  how  she  could  take 
it  all  so  calmly.  They  didn't  know  the  stead- 
fast strain  in  the  girl  that  called  on  her  to  stand 
by  her  father  and  make  the  fight  silently.  Nor 
did  they  know  about  Donald  and,  for  reasons 
of  her  own  and  Donald's,  Alva  didn't  tell  them. 
All  they  could  see  was  that  a  witless  old  re- 
cluse had  irretrievably  ruined  their  friend's 
future — unless  some  eligible  young  man  put 
in  his  prompt  appearance.  And  so  Natalie 
Higgins,  with  the  match-making  instincts  of 
the  engaged  girl,  spent  most  of  the  winter  in 
a  labor  of  love  which,  greatly  to  that  young 
person's  disappointment,  proved  quite  fruit- 
less. When  at  last  the  former  schoolmate's 
patience  was  totally  exhausted  Natalie  spoke 
her  mind. 

"I  don't  see  what  makes  you  so  unreason- 
ably contented,"  she  railed.  "By  all  the  rules 
of  the  game  you  ought  to  be  wildly  discon- 
tented.  You  used  to  have  everything  and  now 
you've  got  nothing  and  it  doesn't  seem  to  make 
one  speck  of  difference.  You  may  or  may  not 
be  aware  that  I  think  you're  the  grandest  lady 
in  the  world  just  because  you  do  feel  that  very 
good  way,  but  all  the  same  I  can't  understand 
it.     Why  don't  you  call  on  some  young  Rub- 


42  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

ber  or  Coal  or  Oil  or  Rapid  Transit  to  solve 
the  problem  of  your  future  existence?  Re- 
member— I  don't  insist  on  your  marrying  any 
of  the  prize  packages  /  have  produced.  Per- 
haps the  last  lot  was  too  soaked  with  wealth 
to  be  entirely  human  but  all  that  Jim  Warren 
and  I  want  you  to  do  is  to  marry  some  one 
right  away  quick." 

After  that  there  was  no  hope  for  it.  The 
story  of  Donald  had  to  be  told.  But  it  was 
told  with  a  quiet  earnestness  in  the  voice  and 
a  glow  in  the  eyes  that  made  the  rather  cal- 
culating Natalie  envy  such  all  absorbing  and 
conspicuously  unmodern  faith.  And  so  Alva 
was  permitted,  after  a  loving  hug,  to  go  back 
to  her  dreams  and  her  letters  and  to  be  in- 
dustrious socially  only  so  far  as  the  amenities 
required. 

Donald  wrote  at  great  length  and  not  with- 
out humorous  appreciation  of  his  vicissitudes. 
After  a  few  weeks  in  Salt  Lake  City  he  had 
made  the  acquaintance  of  an  ancient  prospec- 
tor named  Swank  and  a  capitalist  named 
Switzer  and  had  paid  the  party's  expenses  into 
the  Deep  Creek  region  to  the  west  because  the 
^'capitalist"  was  temporarily  embarrassed  and 
they  must  stake  out  Swank's  claims  without 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  43 

loss  of  time.  But  old  Swank  had  somehow 
been  unable  to  find  again  the  gulch  in  which 
he  had  originally  made  his  immensely  valuable 
discovery  and  Switzer  had  turned  out  to  be  a 
charter  member  of  the  Ananias  Club  so,  after 
making  an  equal  division  of  the  outfit,  at  the 
capitalist's  delicate  suggestion,  the  three  had 
parted  and  Donald  had  had  his  first  experience 
at  prospecting  and  was  stone  broke.  But  this 
was  a  condition  which  both  Alva  and  he  had 
anticipated  and  it  did  not  weigh  heavily  on 
them.  Alva  only  compressed  her  lips  and  set- 
tled down  to  wait  and  Donald  proceeded  to 
work  his  way  lightheartedly  across  the  hot 
miles  to  Ely  and  the  copper  camps  of  eastern 
Nevada.  Here  he  stayed  for  the  best  part  of 
a  year,  writing  her  at  frequent  or  infrequent 
intervals  according  to  whether  he  was  working 
in.  a  mine  so  as  to  save  money  for  a  prospect- 
ing trip  or  was  out  on  the  "hike"  with  his 
burros.  Once  or  twice,  he  wrote,  he  had  been 
offered  a  position  which  might  have  led  up  to 
a  good  salary  but,  as  he  took  pains  to  remind 
her,  that  was  precisely  the  kind  of  delay  he  had 
planned  to  avoid.  Men  all  around  him  were 
finding  and  selling  valuable  properties  every 
day,  he  said,  and  he  meant  to  be  one  of  the  dis- 


44  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

coverers.  Then  came  a  long  and  dreadful 
wait  of  six  months,  sterile  of  letters,  and,  as 
if  to  compensate,  a  lightning  flash  out  of  the 
blue  in  the  shape  of  a  telegram  from  Idaho  say- 
ing that  he  had  found  something  at  last  and 
was  on  his  way  to  New  York  to  negotiate  its 
sale. 

Alva  was  waiting  at  the  Grand  Central  Sta- 
tion when  his  train  came  in.  Their  meeting, 
which  was  observed  by  several  hundred  com- 
muters and  some  red  capped  porters,  was  at 
the  least  a  pictorial  success.  After  which 
there  was  a  profligate  expenditure  for  a  taxi- 
cab  and  a  joyful  dinner  at  the  Leigh  apart- 
ment, where  Rutherford  Leigh  beamed  on  the 
two  out  of  his  fast  increasing  mental  haze 
and  shivered  for  the  last  of  his  objets  d'art 
whenever  the  younger  man  stretched  his  legs. 

Donald  was  unquenchably  optimistic.  He 
had  somehow  heard  of  a  silver-lead  mine  up 
in  Idaho  whose  owners  had  run  out  of  money 
and  might  be  approached  on  the  subject  of  a 
sale,  and  he  had  taken  a  chance  and  gone  up 
to  examine  it.  It  had  needed  only  a  cursory 
inspection  to  prove  its  value,  even  though  it 
was  twenty  miles  from  the  railroad  and  a  good 
strong  bluff  had  put  him  in  possession  of  an 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  45 

option  at  a  ridiculously  low  figure  for  sixty 
days.  He  had  promptly  wired  some  class- 
mates of  his  who  were  down  in  the  ^^Street" 
and  was  going  to  see  them  in  the  morning. 
As  for  the  future,  there  wasn't  any  doubt  about 
that  any  longer.  The  main  thing  now  was  to 
have  a  good  time  whenever  he  could  get  away 
from  his  deal  while  they  were  waiting  for  it 
to  be  closed  up. 

And  so  Alva's  period  of  waiting  seemed  not 
so  very  terrible  after  all.  And  Donald's  plan, 
concerning  which  she  had  begun  to  have  seri- 
ous misgivings,  had  worked  out  in  spite  of 
the  slings  and  arrows  of  his  first  misfortunes. 
As  the  wondering  girl  listened  to  the  amazing 
stories  of  his  adventures  and  smiled  covertly 
at  the  undismayed  power  of  the  voice  resound- 
ing through  the  tiny  room,  where  dinner  was 
generally  as  subdued  a  meal  as  breakfast,  he 
seemed  for  a  moment  to  be  almost  a  stranger, 
so  radically  different  was  he  in  looks  and  view- 
point from  the  boy  of  a  year  and  a  half  ago. 
But  when  her  father  excused  himself  and  the 
breezy  young  miner  from  the  trackless  desert 
charged  around  the  table  and  swept  her  up  with 
a  chuckle  of  delight,  the  new  light  in  his  eyes 
and  the  bronzed  cheeks  and  unfamiliar  clothes 


46  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

and  the  whole  wondrously  increased  breadth 
and  strength  of  him  were  accepted  without  re- 
serve as  part  and  parcel  of  the  new,  successful, 
love-hungry  Donald,  and  she  gave  herself  up 
to  his  arms  with  a  joy  that  grew  with  the  feel- 
ing that  she  was,  in  some  way,  being  conquered 
for  a  second  time. 

The  first  few  weeks  of  Donald's  negotia- 
tions turned  out,  in  spite  of  his  irrepressible 
optimism,  about  as  might  be  expected.  In 
theory  Wall  Street  is  a  place  of  enthusiasms, 
but  in  practice  at  least  one  side  of  it  is  inhabited 
by  congenital  pessimists.  The  other  side, 
after  listening  silently  and  very  shrewdly,  will 
sometimes  ofifer  to  furnish  certain  enthusiasms 
of  a  stipulated  length  and  breadth  and  color 
— but  only  at  a  price.  Donald  discovered 
slowly  that  the  Street  was  less  a  place  for  buy- 
ing than  for  selling,  and  that  nearly  every  man 
he  met  had  something  to  sell. 

Many  of  his  old  friends  were,  however,  un- 
affectedly glad  to  see  him,  though  they  said 
very  frankly  that  they  didn't  know  much  about 
mines  in  Idaho  and  didn't  expect  to.  Others 
said  it  was  very  kind  of  him  to  drop  in  and 
then  made  mention  of  the  *'four  thirty-two" 
which  they  generally  caught.     Finally,  when 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  47 

three  weeks  out  of  the  precious  sixty  days  were 
gone  and  the  clouds  had  begun  to  gather,  he 
brought  back  the  report  to  Alva  that  he  had  at 
last,  by  the  blindest  kind  of  luck,  run  across  a 
man  who  took  some  interest.  Caswell — a  chap 
he'd  barely  known  at  college  but  who,  it 
seemed,  had  followed  his  athletic  career  with 
envy  and  admiration  for  the  reason  that  he 
himself  was  helplessly  fat  and  hopelessly  a  hero 
worshiper.  So,  then,  there  were  many  meet- 
ings with  Caswell,  the  fortunately  rich,  fat  boy, 
and  some  of  CaswelFs  friends  and  an  engineer 
whom  some  person  of  an  investigating  turn  of 
mind  had  thought  to  bring  in  at  the  last  mo- 
ment. And  Donald  took  heart  again,  although 
the  engineer  would  need  a  dangerously  long 
time  for  his  examination  and  report,  and  he 
and  Alva  proceeded  to  give  themselves  up  to 
dreams  while  they  waited. 

By  this  time  all  of  Alva's  girl  friends  and 
most  of  her  bowing  acquaintances  knew  that 
she  was  engaged.  The  proportion  of  inter- 
ested males,  however,  began  rapidly  to  dwindle. 
There  were  theater  parties  and  dinner  dances 
to  which  she  and  Donald  were  asked,  but  while 
she  would  have  been  considered  a  possibility 
if  the  Leigh  fortune  had  been  in  existence  the 


48  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

combination  of  straitened  circumstances  and 
an  engagement  ring  put  her  out  of  the  run- 
ning. To  which  Alva  objected  not  at  all  and 
was  even  a  little  relieved  when  the  invitations 
slackened  with  Lent,  and  Donald  stopped 
drinking  too  much  champagne. 

Right  here  was  something  that  worried  the 
girl  not  a  little.  It  was  not  that  his  voice  grew 
thick  or  his  limbs  unsteady  when  he  drank 
something  more  than  the  social  allowance,  for 
his  big  body  seemed  equal  to  almost  anything, 
but  because  he  seemed,  in  some  undefinable 
way,  curiously  to  coarsen.  At  such  times  he 
had  the  unfortunate  habit  of  retailing  wild 
stories  of  his  adventures  which  held  something 
more  than  the  flavor  of  purely  animal  spirits. 
Few  girls  in  Alva's  position  are  apt  to  be 
hypercritical  and  yet,  now  and  then,  Alva 
seemed  to  catch  a  view  of  a  rather  undesirable 
Donald — as  if  his  stories  opened  a  door  through 
which  she  could  glimpse  tawdry  amusements 
and  questionable  nights. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  such  questions 
became  of  no  importance  beside  that  of  the 
deal  down  in  the  "Street."  Caswell's  engineer 
had  come  back  from  Idaho  with  only  ten  days 
to  spare  before  the  option  expired  and  was 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  49 

methodically  drawing  up  an  elaborate  report 
on  what  he  had  found,  while  Donald  writhed 
at  the  delay  and  demanded  to  know  why  the 
old  fool  hadn't  written  out  what  he  wanted  to 
say  while  he  was  coming  east  on  the  train. 
Each  morning  of  that  last  week  Alva  had  a 
telephone  message  from  him  saying  that  he 
expected  to  close  up  the  deal  that  day,  and 
every  evening,  without  coming  to  see  her,  he 
sent  back  a  depressing  report  of  interfering 
engagements  in  Caswell's  office,  of  men  who 
couldn't  be  got  together  and  of  a  multitude  of 
unforeseen  delays.  Finally,  one  night  at  nine 
o'clock  the  door  bell  rang  and  Donald  appeared. 
When  she  saw  his  face  Alva  knew  he  had 
failed. 

"Yes.  It's  all  fallen  through,"  he  said 
sadly  as  her  arms  went  quickly  round  him  in 
the  little  hallway.  "Caswell's  engineer  took 
five  days  and  fifteen  typewritten  pages  to  say 
that  the  property  was  too  far  from  a  railroad. 
When  they  heard  that  they  said  they  hadn't 
any  doubt  but  that  it  would  pay  somebody  to 
work  it,  but  just  at  present  the  state  of  the 
market  didn't  allow  their  making  any  extensive 
investments.  They  haven't  got  the  nerve, 
that's  what's  the  matter,"  he  broke  out,  with 


50  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

a  flood  of  anger.  "These  measly  pups  that 
have  never  been  west  of  the  Hudson  River 
think  the  West  exists  to  bring  them  good 
things  without  their  raising  a  hand  or  risking 
a  cent.  They  think  a  fellow  ought  to  hand 
them  a  mine  on  a  silver  platter.  They  want  a 
big  producer  with  a  couple  of  millions  in  values 
blocked  out  right  at  the  back  door  of  a  smelter. 
And  then  they  want  to  give  you  a  check  on  the 
bank  for  a  rubber  nickel.  They  make  me  sick," 
he  snarled.  "Thank  God  I  don't  live  in  this 
rotten  town  and  Fm  going  to  pull  my  freight 
out  of  here  as  quick  as  I  can.  Tve  had  enough 
of  their  two-by-four  ways  and  Tm  going  back 
to  God's  Country  and  get  some  action  on  this 
proposition.  There's  a  man  in  Salt  Lake 
that'll  listen  when  I  talk  and  he  likes  to  see  his 
money  earning  something  for  him.  You 
won't  catch  him  trying  to  scratch  the  face  off 
a  double  eagle  before  he  spends  it.  He's 
a  live  one  and  a  gambler.  He'll  grab  this 
property  quick  as  a  wink  and  I'm  going  to 
make  the  jump  out  there  to-night." 

"To-nightr  Alva  gasped. 

"Yes.  Now"  he  answered,  and  she  saw  he 
was  haggard  with  worry.  "I've  bought  my 
ticket  and  checked  my  stuff.     I  made  up  my 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  51 

mind  this  afternoon.  IVe  just  five  days  in 
which  to  make  Salt  Lake,  get  some  money  out 
of  this  fellow  and  make  a  payment  on  my  op- 
tion. I  ought  to  have  tackled  him  long  ago. 
What  a  fool  I  was  to  come  here,  anyway !" 

He  rose  to  go,  his  hat  in  his  hand.  Then 
his  face  worked  strangely.  He  gathered  her, 
dazed  and  wordless,  into  his  arms. 

*'It's  dreadful,  dreadful,  I  know,"  he  cried 
brokenly.  "But,  what  ever  can  we  do?  We 
can't  get  married  before  I  have  some  sort  of 
a  home  to  offer  you  and  I've  got  to  take  this 
chance — perhaps  another  like  it  won't  come  up 
for  years.  And  the  minute  things  are  right 
I'll  send  for  you.  We'll  get  away  from  this 
rotten  city  and  live  out  where  people  are  big 
and  human.  I'll  have  you  West  inside  six 
months  just  as  sure  as  the  sun  will  rise  to- 
morrow morning." 

And  then,  with  a  sudden,  joyful  return  to 
the  old  Donald,  in  which  were  mingled  the  light 
hearted  boy  of  their  wonderful  summer  and 
the  forceful,  optimistic  man  of  a  few  weeks 
ago — 'They  can't  keep  me  down,"  he  cried 
and  she  felt  his  body  tighten  under  her  arms. 
"I  will  succeed.  It's  in  my  bones.  I'll  go  and 
go  and  go.     And  every  move  I  make,  every 


52  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

dollar  I  earn  will  always  be  for  you,  Alva. 
Now  and  evermore." 


Down  on  the  street  a  man  came  out  of  an 
apartment  building  and  turned  towards  Broad- 
way. For  a  block  or  two  he  walked  at  a  rapid 
nervous  pace  and  then  his  steps  grew  slower. 
He  stopped  to  light  a  cigarette  and  stood, 
moody  and  irresolute,  on  a  corner,  his  hand 
closing  over  a  small  roll  of  bills  in  his  pocket. 
One  by  one  his  fingers  counted  them  over  and 
separated  out  the  few  crisp  fives  and  tens, 
while  his  lips  moved  in  slow  calculation. 
When  he  had  made  his  total  he  shot  a  glance 
up  at  the  massive  blocks  of  apartments  around 
him,  and  estimated  their  cost — and  laughed. 
His  little  roll  of  bills  might  as  well  be  in  the 
river. 

Stepping  into  a  corner  cafe  he  ordered  a 
drink  and  stared  at  himself  dully  in  the  mir- 
ror. His  train  didn't  go  until  midnight  and 
he  had  two  hours  to  waste.  It  seemed  better 
to  amuse  himself  drinking  than  to  lie  in  his 
berth  with  the  thoughts  of  his  failure  eating 
his  heart  out,  and  so,  presently,  he  motioned 
to  the  bartender  again.  There  was  no  one  in 
the  place  besides  himself  and  as,  comforted 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  53 

by  his  drink,  he  walked  about  nibbling  at  the 
free  lunch  and  glancing  at  the  papers  he 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  back-room,  with  its 
atmosphere  of  sequestered  conversation.  It 
was  a  particularly  inviting  room,  with  low 
burning  lights  in  candelabra  with  colored 
shades  on  the  small,  intimate  tables  and  not 
without  suggestion  of  illicit  acquaintance. 

Something  impish  in  its  quick  birth  started 
up  in  the  man's  mind.  Something  question- 
able but  luring,  born  of  his  late  failure  and 
his  drink  and  the  recklessness  that  was  as  much 
a  part  of  him  as  his  big  limbs  and  hot  young 
heart.  He  opened  the  swinging  door  and 
looked  in. 

A  girl,  conspicuously  young  and  undeni- 
ably good-looking,  sat  alone  at  one  of  the  tables. 
He  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  silken  ankle,  a 
prettily  rounded  arm  and  white  neck.  The 
delicious  scent  of  Djer-Kiss  was  wafted  to  him, 
stirring  his  blood.  His  eyes  drew  hers  and 
she  looked  up.  Her  glance  was  soft-eyed  as 
it  rested  on  him  and  presently  her  fresh  young 
lips  parted  easily  over  exquisite  teeth,  and  she 
smiled. 

"Lonely,  are  you?"  she  asked. 


PART  TWO 

THE  WEST 


CHAPTER  I 

WHEN  Alva  Leigh  came  home  to  her 
apartment  in  the  dusk  of  the  late  Feb- 
ruary afternoon,  she  saw  that  her  companion. 
Miss  Ferguson,  had  come  in  before  her  and 
had  lighted  the  electric  above  the  little  ma- 
hogany table  in  the  hallway,  so  that  Alva 
would  not  miss  seeing  the  letter  and  roll  of 
papers  that  had  come  for  her. 

A  few  years  before,  Alva  would  have 
opened  both  before  she  took  off  her  overshoes, 
or  put  her  dripping  umbrella  in  its  stand,  but 
she  was  now  in  mourning  for  the  third  time 
in  her  life,  and  she  was  also  nearing  the  end 
of  her  second  year  in  the  public  library  on 
Forty-second  Street,  so  that  the  arrival  of 
mail  no  longer  seemed  to  call  for  instant  in- 
quiry into  its  contents.  She  glanced  instinc- 
tively at  the  address  of  the  letter,  however, 
because  she  had  not  heard  from  Donald  since 


2  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

September.  But  the  letter  bore  only  a  New 
York  City  postmark  instead  of  one  from  Cali- 
fornia, and  she  saw  that  it  was  from  the  firm 
of  Bagby  &  Vining,  Attorneys  and  Counselors 
at  Law,  52  William  Street. 

Alva  sighed.  She  realized  that  probably 
old  Mr.  Bagby  wished  to  tell  her  something 
about  her  Uncle  'Tonio's  bequests,  and  the 
thought  brought  up  poignant  memories  of  An- 
tonio De  la  Fuente's  kindnesses  to  her,  an  or- 
phan. 

Alva's  mother  had  been  a  De  la  Fuente,  and 
Alva's  dark  eyes  and  glowing  pallor,  and  some- 
times the  carriage  of  her  head,  especially  when 
she  was  ofifended,  proved  her  Spanish  ancestry 
beyond  much  doubt.  When  she  had  gone  to 
Farmington  as  a  schoolgirl  some  ten  years  be- 
fore, her  chums  had  dubbed  her  '^Carmen''  al- 
most on  the  first  day,  and  had  insisted  on  black- 
browed  poses,  with  a  murderous-looking  can 
opener  flashing  out  from  under  a  petticoat 
mantilla,  while  everyone  else  lolled  on  her  bed, 
applauded,  and  ate  strange  mixtures  of  sar- 
dines and  fudge. 

But  the  Leigh  part  of  Alva  was  measurably 
the  stronger,  and  it  was  because  she  had  re- 
sented Antonio  De  la  Fuente's  contempt  for 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  3 

her  father's  business  ability  that  she  had  never 
allowed  her  Uncle  'Tonio  to  help  her.  She 
had  always  been  fond  of  the  quiet,  dark  little 
man  with  the  wise,  wrinkled  old  eyes  and  sym- 
pathetic smile,  who  shipped  things  back  and 
forth  across  the  seas  from  his  spice-redolent 
offices  down  at  Bowling  Green,  but  the  Puri- 
tan strain  in  the  girl  insisted  grimly  on  loyalty 
to  her  father's  memory,  and  so,  when  she  had 
been  left  alone  in  the  world,  she  had  preferred 
to  earn  her  own  way  instead  of  living  on  her 
uncle's  money.  She  knew  that  she  had  of- 
fended the  old  gentleman  terribly  by  so  do- 
ing, and  she  was  sorry  that  this  was  so,  but 
she  could  not  see  that  he  respected  her  the  less 
for  It.  In  fact,  she  saw  now  that  they  two 
had  always  understood  each  other  perfectly, 
and  when  she  went  to  dine  with  him  at  his 
quiet  hotel  on  Madison  Avenue,  or  sent  him  a 
gift  at  holiday  time,  it  was  with  a  genuine  well- 
ing up  of  affection  whose  only  stumblingblock 
was  her  pride. 

Alva  took  off  her  street  dress  and  freshened 
herself.  Standing  before  her  glass,  she  saw 
that  she  did  not  look  as  old  as  she  felt  to- 
night— that  she  was  as  beautifully  bodied  and 
as  satin-skinned  as  anyone  she  knew,  while 


4  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

the  starlike  eyes  that  burned  back  at  her  out 
of  the  palely  glowing  face  in  the  mirror  were 
strong  with  health  and  vitality.  But  this  was 
because  she  spent  as  much  time  as  she  could 
in  the  open  air.  Several  of  her  old  friends 
who  had  married  well  had  places  on  Long 
Island  and  in  the  Westchester  hills,  and  Alva's 
week-ends,  when  she  took  them,  were  packed 
with  exercise. 

In  town,  however,  her  amusements  were 
few.  Sometimes  she  lunched  at  the  Holland 
House  and  went  to  a  matinee  with  Natalie 
Warren,  who  persistently  refused  to  give  up 
her  old  roommate,  and  always  scolded  her 
roundly  on  the  way  home  in  the  limousine,  and 
sometimes  she  dined  with  Sally  Lowe  and  her 
husband  over  on  the  Drive,  because  Alva's 
father  had  once  taken  Sally  abroad  with  them 
as  Alva's  chum.  But  although  Alva  Leigh 
could  have  gone  almost  where  she  liked  among 
the  big  houses  that  border  on  the  park,  she 
had  willfully  allowed  her  circle  to  contract 
year  by  year  until  she  had  almost  dropped  out 
of  sight.  And  now  she  was  bereft  even  of 
the  Warrens  and  the  Lowes,  for  Natalie  was 
up  the  Nile  and  Sally's  husband  had  suddenly 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  5 

made  a  lot  of  money,  and  carried  her  off  to 
Rome  for  a  second  honeymoon. 

Alva  thought  of  Natalie's  last  letter.  Na- 
talie knew  why  Alva  had  not  married,  and, 
writing  from  Shepperd's  before  they  started, 
Mrs.  Warren  had  expressed  herself  as  finally 
out  of  patience. 

''You  have  waited  entirely  too  long,"  she 
had  said.  ''No  man  nowadays  has  the  right 
to  ask  a  girl  to  wait  for  him  longer  than  two 
years.  Everyone  knows  that  mining  men 
have  their  ups  as  well  as  their  downs,  but  I 
think  it  is  too  much  to  stake  a  woman's  youth 
against  the  possibility  of  finding  some  gold 
some  time,  somewhere  in  a  rock!  Jim  says 
Donald  ought  to  do  his  mining  in  Wall  Street. 
Forgive  me,  dear.  You  know  how  strongly 
I  feel." 

Alva  compressed  her  lips  and  went  on  with 
her  dressing.  She  wondered  what  Natalie 
would  have  said  if  she'd  known  that  Donald 
hadn't  written  to  her  for  six  months.  Then 
she  turned  her  back  to  the  light  over  her  dress- 
ing table  and  opened  Mr.  Bagby's  letter. 

A  few  moments  later  Miss  Nannie  Fergu- 
son,  thin,   fifty,   and   Scotch,   whose   ancient 


6  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

heart  was  still  all  unscarred  by  Man,  received 
a  distinct  shock.  Alva  Leigh  was  standing  in 
her  doorway,  her  face  ablaze  with  emotion. 

'^Nannie,"  she  said,  in  a  constrained  voice, 
*'I  think  our  troubles  are  nearly  over.  My 
uncle  has  made  me  his  sole  heir!" 

A  moment  or  two  necessarily  had  to  be  al- 
lowed the  cautious  Scot  before  she  accepted 
the  probability  of  this  astounding  statement. 
But  when  the  first  outburst  was  over  and  they 
were  seated  side  by  side  on  the  narrow  Fergu- 
son bed,  Nannie  showed  that  her  eye  for  the 
main  chance  was  by  no  means  dimmed  by  the 
glamour  of  such  miraculous  good  fortune. 

''And  now  you  can  marry  your  man!''  she 
said. 

''And  now  I  can  marry — marry  Donald!'' 
Alva  repeated,  and  her  face  shone  as  if  lighted 
from  within.  "Oh,  Nannie!  Nannie!  How 
did  you  know?" 

"Know?"  echoed  the  Scotswoman.  "I 
know  everything — and  I  know  nothing.  I 
know  that  you've  been  truer  to  this  invisible 
young  man  for  four  long  years  than  I  fear  I 
would  be  to  the  Angel  Gabriel  if  I  saw  him 
every  day.  And  I  know  that  he  must  be  a 
verra  extraordinary  man  for  a  girl  like  you 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  7 

to  be  thinking  about  for  so  long,  much  to  the 
discouragement  of  others.  IVe  seen  his  pic- 
ture, and  he  has  a  bonnie  face.  More  I  canna 
say.     Will  ye  no  tell  Nannie  about  him,  dear?'' 

Alva  turned  a  suffused  face,  then  dropped 
her  eyes  and  sought  the  other  woman's  hand. 

''Oh,  Nannie,  dear — it's  been  such  weary 
waiting!"  she  cried.  *'I  could  tell  you  every 
word  he's  ever  said  or  written  since  the  day 
we  met,  and  where  I  saw  him  first,  and  what 
he  thinks  about,  and  how  he  talks,  every  ges- 
ture he  makes,  every  turn  of  his  head!  But, 
oh — it  all  seems  so  far  away  now!  I've 
thought  about  him  for  so  many  days  and 
nights  and  weeks  and  months — I've  thought — 
I've  thought — "  Her  hand  went  to  her  throat 
as  if  she  were  suffocating. 

"Child,  you  have  thought  too  much,"  said 
Nannie.  *'Now  that  everything  will  turn  out 
right,  you  must  take  a  rest  from  thinking. 
You  met  him  four  years — no,  five  years  ago — " 

"Just  after  he  came  out  of  the  School  of 
Mines.  But  he  had  nothing  in  sight  at  that 
time — we  knew  we  must  wait.  And  so  he 
went  West.  Oh — he's  so  tall  and  so  strong, 
Nannie,  and  so  recklessly  brave!  He  would 
go  anywhere — do    anything — to    succeed,    he 


8  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

said — and  he  has.  But  things  have  been 
against  him.  Two  years  ago  he  came  back 
here  to  interest  some  people  downtown  in  a 
mine  in  Idaho — " 

''And  to  see  you." 

"And  to  see  me.  But  he  couldn't  get  them 
to  do  anything — ^he  went  away  very  badly  dis- 
couraged.'' Alva's  voice  deepened,  her  face 
shadowed,  she  seemed  on  the  point  of  enter- 
ing her  state  of  gentle  melancholy  again. 

*'Sakes  alive,  child!"  cried  Nannie,  with  a 
vigorous  shake.  "What  do  ye  care  about  that 
noo?  Can  ye  no  buy  him  all  the  mines  there 
are  in  this  Idaho  with  your  bright  new  siller? 
But  I'm  thinking  you  two  will  have  little  to  do 
with  mines  from  now  on.  You'll  bring  him 
back  soon?" 

"He'll  come  back — he'll  come  back  as  soon 
as  a  telegram  can  reach  him  and  a  train  can 
carry  him  East!"  Alva  cried,  throwing  out 
her  arms.  "And  then,  Nannie!"  A  realiza- 
tion of  how  completely  the  making  of  their 
happiness  now  rested  in  her  hands  swept  over 
the  girl  and  her  voice  failed  her. 

Nannie  Ferguson  gently  stroked  the  hand 
closed  tight  on  hers,  and  studied  the  girl's 
face.     She  loved  Alva  very  much.     The  girl's 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  9 

nature  was  the  most  unselfish  she  had  ever 
known,  and  added  to  the  courage  and  high- 
mindedness  that  everyone  recognized  at  once, 
Alva  had  an  infinite  number  of  lovable  ways 
that  showed  themselves  in  the  smaller  things 
of  life. 

When  Nannie  had  first  come  to  live  with  her 
two  years  before,  she  had  been  surprised  to 
find  a  woman  with  Alva's  connections  moving 
in  so  small  a  social  orbit  without  serious  dis- 
content. But  she  had  learned  little  by  little 
that  while  Alva  was  tremendously  sensitive  as 
to  her  father's  financial  collapse  and  her  al- 
tered position,  yet  she  never  allowed  these 
things  to  afifect  her  relations  with  those  around 
her.  People  who  did  not  know  Alva  Leigh 
intimately  sometimes  thought  her  peculiar,  but 
Nannie  had  found  that  this  was  due  to  the 
girl's  unfailing  faith  in  the  man  she  had  set 
her  heart  upon.  Alva's  pride  forbade  her  tak- 
ing up  her  old  life  again  until  she  could  do  so 
as  a  successfully  married  woman.  There  was 
nothing  more  than  that.  The  girl  had  simply 
been  holding  fast  with  unswerving  allegiance 
to  the  chance  for  happiness  that  the  future 
must  bring. 

But  the  shrewd  Scotchwoman  had  never  al- 


10  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

lowed  her  affections  to  warp  her  abilities  to 
analyze,  and  she  had  been  aware  for  some  time 
past  that  the  girl's  attitude  toward  Donald 
Jaffray  was  undergoing  a  serious  change.  It 
was  only  natural  that  Alva  should  brood,  but 
when  Nannie  saw  that  the  girl  was  beginning 
to  think  more  of  marriage  than  of  the  man,  she 
began  to  feel  frightened.  She  knew  the  force 
of  the  girl's  character,  sweet-natured  though 
she  was,  and  she  was  afraid  that  it  was  being 
turned  in  the  wrong  direction.  Alva's  single- 
mindedness  on  the  subject  of  her  future 
life  seemed  about  to  turn  into  plain  obses- 
sion. 

But  that  grave  danger  was  over  now,  thank 
Heaven!  And  the  wonderful  light  that  shone 
in  Alva's  face  was  only  a  faint  promise  of  the 
transfiguration  soon  to  take  place. 

'^You  darling  woman!"  Nannie  whispered 
softly.  ''You — with  your  head  like  a  Span- 
ish queen's,  and  your  beautiful,  strong  body, 
and  your  wonderful  love  that's  like  both  a 
sweetheart's  and  a  mother's  for  your  boy! 
Why !  if  I  were  a  man,  with  a  man's  blood  and 
fire  in  me,  wild  horses  couldn't  have  torn  me 
away  from  you!  And  just  to  think  that  now 
you're  to  be  married,  after  all!" 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  ii 

"Married,  after  all!"  cried  Alva  a  little 
wildly,  while  Nannie  bit  her  lips  over  the  un- 
fortunate phrase,  "and  why  not?  Haven't  I 
waited?  Haven't  I  been  true?  Haven't  I 
loved  him  since  the  day  we  met?  Life  prom- 
ised him  years  ago  and  life  must  give  him  to 
me  now.  Only  one  thing  in  the  world  can  in- 
terfere. It's  the  very  thing  that  has  kept  us 
apart,  but  it  shall  do  so  no  longer.  I've  given 
him  my  youth  to  satisfy  his  pride — now  he 
must  stop  our  senseless  sacrifices  and  listen  to 
reason.  It's  time  for  us  to  live.  Life  is  slip- 
ping too  fast  out  of  our  fingers!  I  shall  de- 
mand— " 

"Child!  Child!  What  are  you  saying?" 
Nannie  interrupted,  with  a  frightened  gesture. 
"You'll  no  be  'demanding'  anything.  Sit 
down  again  and  calm  yourself.  Your  good 
news  has  upset  you." 

Alva  held  her  hand  over  her  eyes  for  a  mo- 
ment and  pulled  herself  together. 

"Nannie,"  she  said,  with  a  sobbing  laugh, 
"I'm  so  happy  that  I  guess  I'm  losing  my 
mind." 

"You'll  not  lose  your  mind  while  Fm  here," 
said  Miss  Ferguson  forcefully.  "You'll  feel 
better  after  we've  had  our  dinner." 


12  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

The  girl  bent  down  and  kissed  the  faded 
cheek. 

''Look  at  me,  Nannie/'  she  said,  with  shin- 
ing eyes.  'Tm  all  right  now.  I  lost  my  hold 
on  myself  for  a  moment,  but  it  won't  happen 
again.  Perhaps  our  troubles  were  ended  too 
quickly — or  perhaps  Tve  always  imagined 
them  greater  than  they  really  were.  At 
any  rate,  the  sour,  dour  Alva  that  youVe  been 
good  enough  to  live  with  for  two  dark  years 
herewith  flits  away,  never,  never,  never  to  re- 
turn." And  Alva  whirled  out  of  the  room 
with  a  paean  of  joy. 

"I'm  going  to  see  what's  in  this  paper," 
Nannie  heard  her  saying,  in  a  voice  like  a 
song.  'It's  a  marked  copy  of  a  little  news- 
paper they  publish  out  there  in  that  new 
mining  camp.  I've  had  them  before,  and 
they're  screamingly  funny."  She  came  back 
into  the  room  tearing  the  wrapper  from  the 
paper  and  rolling  it  into  a  ball  to  hurl  at 
Nannie. 

"Just  think  of  the  fun  if  Donald  had  struck 
it  rich,  after  all !" 

"Aye,"  said  the  Scotchwoman.  "I've  heard 
of  the  West.  'Tis  a  place  where  strange 
things  happen." 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  13 

And  then  she  looked  up  and  saw  that  some- 
thing strange  was  happening  there  in  her  own 
room  before  her  very  eyes.  For  Alva,  with  a 
bloodless  face,  was  sinking  slowly  to  the  floor. 

Donald  had  met  with  an  accident.  Donald 
had  been  shot. 

Donald was  dead. 

Old  Mr.  Bagby,  of  Bagby  &  Vining,  sat  in 
his  office  waiting  for  Antonio  De  la  Fuente's 
niece  to  be  announced. 

He  had  had  charge  of  his  friend  De  la 
Fuente's  legal  matters  for  a  great  many  years, 
nearly  half  a  century,  in  fact,  and  in  that  time 
he  had  come  to  know  all  that  there  was  to 
know  concerning  the  De  la  Fuentes  and  the 
Leighs.  He  had  not  seen  Alva,  however, 
since  she  was  a  girl  of  eighteen  and,  as  usual, 
he  expected  to  see  her  comparatively  un- 
changed. He  was  prepared,  of  course,  to  find 
her  spirits  affected  by  her  uncle's  death,  but 
he  did  not  imagine  that  they  would  be  per- 
manently dampened. 

He  was  much  surprised,  therefore,  to  find 
Miss  Leigh  not  only  a  grown  woman,  but  also 
one  who,  he  saw  at  once,  had  lately  experi- 
enced a  very  great  shock.     As  he  pressed  her 


14  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

hand  for  a  moment  with  his  soft,  old  fingers 
and  smiled  comfortingly  and  led  her  to  a  chair, 
he  felt  that  the  intense  sadness  in  her  face 
could  not  have  been  caused  entirely  by  her 
uncle's  death. 

And  so  he  spoke  pleasantly  of  the  last  time 
he  had  seen  her — only  a  year  or  so  ago,  he 
said,  at  which  Alva  smiled  faintly — and  told 
her  of  an  act  of  kindness  that  her  father  had 
once  done  him  in  their  early  life,  and  very 
soon  established  an  entente  cordiale  such  as 
old  gentlemen,  when  they  are  deft  as  well  as 
kind,  have  a  way  of  bringing  about. 

And  presently  the  talk  turned  on  her  uncle's 
affairs,  and  Alva  learned  that  the  business  of 
De  la  Fuente  y  Cia  was  being  continued  as 
before — that  it  was  a  very  profitable  business 
— and  that  while  she  was  now  a  wealthy 
woman,  she  would  undoubtedly  be  much  richer 
as  time  went  on.  Mr.  Bagby  was  one  of  the 
executors  under  the  will,  and  an  officer  of 
the  company,  and  all  her  interests  were  being 
scrupulously  cared  for.  After  which  she 
found  her  Uncle  'Tonio's  old  friend  mention- 
ing other  things  that  did  not  greatly  matter, 
and  giving  her  opportunity  for  any  questions 
she  might  like  to  ask. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  15 

"I  have  decided  to  go  away  for  a  time/' 
Alva  said  finally,  at  which  Mr.  Bagby  nodded 
approvingly. 

''Abroad,  no  doubt,"  he  said.  'Tlease  do 
not  hesitate  to  have  this  office,  or  your  own, 
help  you  in  making  your  arrangements.  Of 
course,  you  know  you  can  spend  virtually  any 
amount  you  choose." 

"I  am  not  going  abroad,"  Alva  answered. 
*'But  I  should  like  you  to  give  me  some  money, 
and  I  shall  leave  instructions  with  you  as  to  for- 
warding my  mail.     I  shall  also  make  my  will." 

Mr.  Bagby  gravely  inclined  his  head.  He 
was  beginning  to  surmise  that  the  saddened, 
but  remarkably  fine-looking.  Miss  Leigh  was 
a  purposeful  woman. 

"I  should  like  to  have  the  will  drawn  up 
now,  if  I  may — and  make  the  other  arrange- 
ments, too." 

"All  that  will  be  done  immediately,"  Mr. 
Bagby  said.  ''Would  you  care  to  tell  me 
where  you  are  going?  And  how  long  you  may 
be  gone?" 

"I  am  going  to  California — to  a  place  they 
call  'Death  Valley/''  Alva  said.  "That  is 
why  I  wish  to  make  my  will.  It  may  be  that 
I  shall  never  return." 


CHAPTER  II 

ANIGHT  wind,  sweet  with  sage,  streamed 
down  the  slopes  of  the  Funerals  and 
pulsed  across  a  valley  that  had  not  yet  been 
named.  Concentrating  at  the  mouth  of  Dead 
Horse  Canon,  whose  winding  cut  through  the 
sandstone  led  down  to  a  vaster  and  still  more 
barren  basin  beyond,  its  quickening  breath 
stirred  the  flames  of  a  fire  crackling  in  the 
sand  of  the  wagon  road,  and  whirled  the  sparks 
aloft  in  a  gleaming  spiral. 

It  caught  up  a  whirl  of  dust,  too,  and  flung 
it  spitefully  into  the  face  of  a  woman  who 
stood  waist  deep  in  the  greasewood,  staring 
into  the  fire  with  wide,  frightened  eyes. 
Then  the  space-filling  whir  of  the  wind  died 
away  and  the  valley  grew  silent  again — silent 
and  impenetrable  under  a  starless  pall.  Only 
there  came  from  a  distance  the  spasmodic  gal- 
loping of  a  team  of  horses  still  held  together 
by  fragments  of  harness,  and,  from  near  by, 
the  ironic  crackle  of  flames  around  the  name 
board  of  what,  a  little  while  before,  had  been 

i6 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  17 

the  two-seated  Magnet  Stage  with  its  load  of 
mail  and  baggage — "Passengers  and  express 
carefully  transported  between  Amargosa  and 
Death  Valley." 

With  the  slackening  of  the  fire,  the  woman 
raised  her  fascinated  eyes  from  the  ruins,  and 
moved  a  few  steps  away,  striving  to  follow 
the  vague  ribbon  of  a  road  that  faded  into  the 
west.  As  she  stood  so,  staring  hopelessly  into 
the  darkness,  a  sound  of  feet  plodding  through 
the  soft,  stone-crusted  surface  of  the  plain  came 
to  her  ears.  Another  moment  and  the  bulk  of 
a  horse  and  rider  loomed  up  in  front  of  her, 
grotesque  and  misshapen  in  outline.  Dis- 
mounting a  few  feet  away,  the  horseman  left 
his  animal  standing  with  down-dropped  rein, 
and  came  forward. 

They  faced  each  other  across  the  embers  of 
the  fire,  a  tall  woman  with  a  queenly  head  of 
dark  hair  and  dark,  steady  eyes,  and  a  man  a 
year  or  two  her  senior,  whose  oil-smeared 
khaki  and  flannel  shirt  indicated  employment 
near  by,  just  as  his  quiet  face  promised  hon- 
esty. Oddly  enough,  there  was  no  need  of 
explanations  as  to  what  had  happened,  for 
the  stranger  seemed  to  have  a  complete  un- 
derstanding of  the  situation.     Her  frown  re- 


i8  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

laxed  almost  immediately  when  she  saw  his 
face  in  the  firelight,  and  she  went  to  him,  point- 
ing to  a  huddled  shape  a  few  feet  away  in  the 
brush. 

"The  driver  is  over  there''  she  said,  un- 
conscious of  her  low-voiced,  tragic  tones. 
*The  horses  kicked  him  in  the  head  when  they 
ran  away." 

"ril  look  at  him,"  the  man  answered  pleas- 
antly, but  without  haste,  and  he  musingly 
touched  a  loop  of  glowing  baling  wire  with  the 
toe  of  his  boot.  "It  will  be  'Alkali  BilF— 
judging  from  general  results.  Whisky  and 
cigarette  sparks  seem  to  have  been  right  ac- 
tive to-night.     You  carried  some  hay,  I  see." 

"He  would  smoke — and  drink,"  she  stated 
tensely.  "Before  I  knew  it,  we  were  all 
ablaze." 

The  man  bent  over  the  body  and  struck  a 
match.  She  could  see  him  only  dimly  as  he 
knelt  down,  trying  to  catch  a  heartbeat,  but 
once  she  was  certain  that  she  saw  him  study- 
ing his  watch,  which  she  thought  curious. 
When  he  came  forward  again,  he  no  longer 
wore  his  coat. 

"He's  in  bad  shape — well  have  to  get  him 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  19 

later/'  he  said  briefly,  and  she  felt  herself 
maneuvered  into  a  position  where  the  firelight 
shone  directly  on  her  face.  ''Did  you  save 
any  of  your  baggage?" 

"All  I  had/'  she  answered,  conscious  of  his 
eyes.  "A  shawl  strap  and  a  suit  case.  I  was 
very  fortunate." 

''Yes,  ma'am.  Very  lucky,"  he  responded, 
in  his  easy  way,  and  still  studied  her  over  the 
hand  that  stroked  his  down-drooping,  yellow 
mustache.  "If  you  don't  mind,  perhaps  we 
could  be  going  on  about  now.  Magnet's  not 
far.     ril  get  my  horse." 

With  the  animal  standing  beside  her,  she 
looked  up  into  its  owner's  face  with  an  ex- 
pression of  surprise.  The  unknown  Samari- 
tan's actions  were  so  direct  as  hardly  to  give 
her  time  to  appreciate  their  purposes. 

"Am  /  to  ride  ?"  she  asked,  and  then  realized 
that  the  question  sQunded  foolish,  even  in  her 
own  ears. 

"If  you  please,  ma'am,"  as  he  shortened  the 
stirrups  and  held  one  of  them  for  her.  "You 
might  hold  your  suit  case  in  front  of  you  on 
the  pommel.  The  other  can  go  behind. 
There  you  go!     Fine!"    And  after  a  rapid 


20  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

fastening  of  the  shawl  strap  at  the  cantle,  he 
turned  away  from  the  fire,  leading  her  mount 
by  the  rein  into  the  vague  roadway. 

The  woman  balanced  her  luggage  on  the 
rocking  pommel  as  best  she  could,  and  gave 
herself  up  to  wonder.  Hardly  ten  minutes 
ago  she  had  been  marooned  on  an  unknown 
desert  in  impenetrable  darkness.  Now  she 
found  herself  suddenly  picked  up  and  carried 
on  her  way  again  with  a  swiftness  of  action 
as  unerring  as  it  was  amazing.  It  was  a 
far  cry  from  the  security  of  last  night's  Pull- 
man to  riding  out,  she  knew  not  with  whom 
or  whither,  into  this  wide-stretching,  unknown 
land  where  the  very  bulk  of  the  wind  meant 
vastness,  and  she  felt  her  courage  falter. 
Then  it  leaped  up  again  stronger  than  ever  as 
they  gained  the  summit  of  a  swell,  and  saw  a 
blurred  gleam  of  white  in  the  distance. 

"Is  that  Magnet?''  she  asked,  the  words 
breaking  from  her  with  a  cry. 

Unstartled,  the  man  let  her  animal  come  up 
to  him,  and  answered  her  with  thought,  or 
else  its  amused  counterfeit,  in  his  tones. 

''Well,  now — it  is  little,  isn't  it?"  he  mused. 
"However  could  I  have  figured  it  was  a  'city' ! 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  21 

But  we're  only  a  year  old,  ma'am.  We'll 
grow." 

He  continued  to  walk  at  the  horse's  head  un- 
til the  blur  took  on  the  shape  of  tiny  one  and 
two-roomed  tent  houses,  scattered  along  a 
street  of  two  short  city  blocks  in  length,  which 
faded  away  up  the  western  slope  of  the  valley 
towards  an  opaque  sky. 

They  paused  again,  and  the  woman  stared  at 
her  goal  with  a  clutching  around  her  heart. 

''You  have  friends  here,  have  you?"  the 
man  asked,  in  a  detached  tone. 

''No.  No  friends,"  she  answered  help- 
lessly, unable  to  take  her  eyes  off  the  place 
she  had  thought  of,  night  and  day,  for  so 
many  months. 

"H'mmm!"  he  mused.  "In  that  case,  you 
will  not  be  accustomed  to  the  ways  here." 
There  was  light  enough  from  the  tents  now  to 
see  her  face,  and  he  looked  up  with  a  direct 
and  succinct  remark:  "This  is  no  pink-tea 
place." 

"I  know  that,"  the  woman  answered  curtly, 
then  bit  her  lip.  Not  yet  there — and  she  had 
already  made  a  misstep. 

But    her    guide    only    nodded    pleasantly. 


22  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

"Still — a  pink  tea  would  be  a  mighty  interest- 
ing affair,  I  judge.  The  postmaster's  wife 
could  just  about  die  from  attention,  'most  any 
day,  as  it  is." 

Her  hand  went  up  to  her  cheek  in  amaze- 
ment. 

"Are  there  no  other  women?  I  thought  I 
saw  one  at  the  door  of  a  tent.'' 

"Mrs.  Baker  and  you  will  be  the  only  ladies, 
ma'am,"  he  answered  definitely.  "I'm  taking 
you  to  her  place." 

Up  the  straggling  street  between  the  glow- 
worm tents  the  woman  rode  in  the  soft  spring 
night  on  the  stranger's  horse,  acutely  observ- 
ant of  every  make-shift  for  comfort  seen 
through  open  doorways,  keenly  conscious  of 
men — nothing  but  men — around  her,  behind 
her,  in  front  of  her;  dawdling  on  doorsteps, 
passing  by  in  the  darkness  in  murmuring  twos 
and  threes,  clustered  around  the  bars  of 
saloons  where  raucous-voiced  phonographs 
guttered  forth  their  travesties  on  music,  and 
drunken  songs  and  still  more  drunken  laugh- 
ter roared  up  to  God's  clean  stars,  now  gleam- 
ing whitely  overhead. 

Again  the  unfamiliar  feeling  of  helpless- 
ness clutched  at  the  woman's  heart.     Men — 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  23 

nothing  but  men — men  in  the  rough,  like  the 
mines  that  had  given  this  mushroom  its  riot- 
ous growth,  and  she  only  a  solitary,  friend- 
less woman,  with  merely  a  purpose,  which  al- 
ready seemed  more  like  a  forlorn  hope,  to  hug 
to  her  breast  for  company. 

At  the  end  of  the  street  her  guide  halted  in 
front  of  a  one-storied,  unpainted  frame  build- 
ing and  spoke  to  a  woman  seated  in  the  door- 
way. 

'T  guess  you  won't  get  a  whole  lot  of  mail 
to-night,  Mrs.  Baker,"  he  said,  in  his  pleasant 
voice.  'TVe  brought  you  a  boarder,  instead. 
This  lady  has  come  to  Magnet — to — to — '' 
He  paused  and  turned  around. 

*To  stay,''  the  woman  on  horseback  sup- 
plied firmly,  but  without  sharpness.  *Tf  you 
don't  mind,  I'd  like  to  get  down." 

"Why,  yes.  Come  right  in,"  Mrs.  Baker 
responded,  in  matter-of-fact  tones.  "You 
can  sleep  on  a  cot  in  the  mail  room,  dearie. 
The  Palace  Hotel  hasn't  established  its  branch 
here  yet.  Where's  the  funny  old  mail,  Mr. 
Randall?" 

"Burned  up,  along  with  the  stage,"  he  an- 
swered, as  he  carried  the  baggage  through  the 
post    office    into    a    lighted    room    beyond. 


24  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

^'Alkali's  been  playing  tricks  on  us  again." 

'That's  twice  this  year  already/'  the 
motherly-looking  postmistress  mused.  "Folks 
will  be  complaining  soon.  Will  you  take  your 
hat  off,  dearie?  It's  certainly  a  good  thing 
Mr.  Randall  managed  to  find  you — out  there 
in  the  desert  and  all." 

The  traveler  removed  her  hat  and  looked 
up  at  the  tall  man  who  had  brought  her  safely 
through  the  darkness. 

Her  first  impression,  now  that  she  could 
see  him  clearly,  was  that  he  was  thoroughly  a 
man  in  face  as  well  as  in  figure.  His  nose 
was  sensitive  and  straight.  His  mouth,  half 
hidden  by  the  drooping,  fine-haired  mustache, 
she  could  not  see,  but  his  chin,  indented,  was 
unquestionably  a  chin,  and  his  fine  hazel  eyes 
were  both  luminous  and  steady.  In  spite  of 
his  working  clothes,  he  looked  very  clean,  and, 
in  some  indefinable  way,  almost  certainly  a 
gentleman. 

Her  second  impression,  which  came  from 
something  behind  his  repose  of  manner,  was 
that  this  gravely  smiling  man,  who  seemed  to  be 
studying  her  closely  for  a  second  time,  was  to 
become  either  her  very  good  friend  or  else 
something   radically   different.     A   third   im- 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  25 

pression,  which  she  did  not  care  to  retain,  was 
that  his  was  the  stronger  personaUty  of  the 
two. 

But  while  she  was  speaking  her  thanks,  all 
these  appraisals  were  forgotten  in  a  handclasp 
so  firm  and  wonderfully  sympathetic  as  to 
pour  a  warming  current  of  life  into  her  tired 
body. 

"Don't  thank  me,  ma'am.  A  woman  at 
Death  Valley  is  worth  even  more  than  water — 
and  thafs  fifteen  dollars  a  barrel!  Why — if 
I  don't  hurry  along  right  now  for  poor  Alkali, 
there'll  be  a  committee  camping  on  my  trail 
with  a  wine  supper !"  He  retreated,  laughing, 
to  the  edge  of  the  darkness,  and  picked  up  his 
horse's  rein,  swinging  up  to  the  saddle  as  easily 
as  if  it  were  early  morning. 

"So  long,  Mr.  Randall,"  called  the  frankly 
admiring  Mrs.  Baker.  "Get  that  Baker  of 
mine  away  from  the  'high  card'  long  enough 
to  help  with  Bill!" 

"Good  night,"  the  Samaritan  responded. 
He  drew  the  rein  against  his  animal's  neck  to 
wheel  away,  then  paused  and  looked  back  with 
a  sudden  tenseness  of  pose  that  seemed  to 
make  his  farewell  carry  the  more  surely  past 
the  postmistress  to  the  traveler. 


26  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

*^Good  night — Miss  Leigh." 

The  woman  in  the  doorway  drew  back  with 
a  gasp  and  stood  there,  staring  mutely,  until 
the  other  woman  woke  her  from  her  amaze- 
ment and  led  her  to  the  room  where  she  was 
to  pass  the  night. 

He  had  spoken  her  name! 

And  in  this  manner  Alva  Leigh  came  to  the 
mining  camp  of  Magnet,  on  the  edge  of  Death 
Valley,  unheralded  through  three  thousand 
miles  of  travel,  only  to  hear  her  name  spoken 
out  of  the  darkness  on  the  first  night  by  an  un- 
known man  whom  she  might  never  see  again. 


CHAPTER  III 

IN  the  morning  she  rose  early,  glad  to  escape 
the  unfamiliar  angles  of  the  Baker  cot, 
and  studied  the  town  from  the  doorway,  her 
thoughtful  face  brightening  at  the  wild  fresh- 
ness of  the  air  and  the  wonderful,  clean  sun- 
light. 

Before  her  a  single  street  of  tents — tent 
stores  and  garishly  fronted  tent  saloons — ran 
down  a  gentle  slope  into  a  gray-green  valley 
of  plumy  sage  and  greasewood,  whose  other 
side  was  a  range  of  barren,  chocolate-colored 
rhyolite.  Beyond  this,  one  after  another, 
sterile  chains  of  hills,  yellow  and  flaring  red 
and  bluish  gray,  reared  their  spiny  backs  in 
serried  rank  until,  across  a  vast,  twinkling 
desert,  the  snow-tipped  spear  of  Charleston 
Peak  emerged  from  the  mists  and  hung  like  a 
cold,  white  cloud,  high  in  the  sky. 

Although  her  journey  had  left  her  by  no 
means  unprepared  for  the  sight,  the  search- 
ing light  of  morning  brought  home  the  vast- 
ness  of  the  view  and  its  cruel  barrenness  with 

27 


28  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

unescapable  force.  Coming  out  of  a  land  of 
little  hills,  always  decently  garmented  with 
earth,  she  found  herself  set  down  in  the  midst 
of  great  ragged  ranges  as  naked  as  the  teeth 
of  a  saw.  All  her  life  Alva  had  been  among 
green  things,  living  things,  houses,  factories, 
stores,  smoking  chimneys — within  hearing  dis- 
tance of  people  and  the  world's  noises.  Here 
was  none  of  that — no  green  on  the  bare- 
toothed  mountains — nothing  of  life  and  its 
activities  beyond  an  occasional  sound  from  the 
street — nothing  to  dispel  a  frightening  sensa- 
tion of  loneliness  in  this  vast,  thirsty  land  of 
reds  and  yellows,  where  daring  men  braved  the 
perils  of  heat  and  silence  to  dig  ore  out  of  the 
hot  hills,  live  a  few  vivid  years  of  work  and 
reckless  pleasure,  and  then  withdraw  again, 
leaving  behind  them  their  youth,  some  holes  in 
the  ground,  and  a  grinning  stretch  of  sand 
and  hills  that  would  keep  on  grinning  until  the 
Judgment  Day. 

She  looked  again  at  the  town  with  its  dis- 
maying clutter  of  ramshackle  wagons,  broken 
boxes,  refuse,  and  glittering  tin  cans — at  the 
unfamiliar  head-frames  of  the  shafts — at  the 
figures  of  men  in  their  working  clothes  now 
turning  out  for  the  morning  drink  and  break- 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  29 

fast,  and  wondered — wondered  where  she  was 
to  begin. 

With  breakfast  over,  she  turned  to  washing 
dishes  as  the  easiest  route  to  the  knowledge 
that  she  must  have,  and,  in  due  time,  found 
part  of  it. 

*'Baker  was  wondering  last  night  what  you 
were  figuring  to  do  here,''  the  postmistress  re- 
marked leadingly,  as  her  observant  eyes  roved 
over  Alva's  handsome  face  and  noted  her 
ready  disposal  of  the  kitchen  tasks.  "But  I 
told  him  you  were  looking  for  work,  like  as 
not." 

''Yes.  I  expect  to  work,"  was  the  immedi- 
ate reply,  for  Alva's  instinct  told  her  that  she 
must  justify  her  presence  in  Magnet  without 
loss  of  time.  'T  must  work  at  something  right 
away.  You  all  'take  a  chance'  out  here — and 
so  will  I."  Which  facile  expression  of  West- 
ern philosophy  in  her  own  voice  so  amazed  her 
that  she  flashed  a  warm  smile  at  the  other 
woman,  and  thereby  cemented  a  friendship  al- 
ready in  the  making. 

Yet  Mrs.  Baker's  legitimate  curiosity  was 
not  entirely  appeased,  and  she  let  fall  another 
remark. 

"Not  knowing  where  you  come  from,  and 


30  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

nothing  about  you,  I  couldn't  see  it  was  a  whole 
lot  of  Baker's  business,"  she  continued. 
''Mebbe  she'll  run  a  little  store,  I  says — or 
mebbe  a  boarding  house.  No  woman,  I  says, 
is  coming  into  this  layout  of  country  without 
knowing  her  own  mind,  you  bet. 

"Now,  a  boarding  house — well — that  would 
be  my  choice.  Not  a  single,  solitary  one  here 
to-day  except  'Stingy  Pete's'  short-order  dump 
back  of  the  Red  Onion,  and  that's  only  Tee 
bones — French  fried — Eggs-any-way — and 
Coffee.'  And,  say!  For  a  single  girl,  what 
with  these  rich  Easterners  and  mining  men 
coming  here  in  their  automobiles  a-looking  at 
mines,  and  all  the  nice  young  fellows  working 
round — well,  a  boarding  house,  for  real,  high- 
toned  society  and  money,  surely  does  look 
good  to  me." 

Alva  Leigh,  listening  intently  as  she  dried 
dishes,  thanked  her  stars  that  Magnet  held  a 
Mrs.  Baker.  But  she  knew  that,  while  her 
purpose  might  always  be  her  own,  she  could 
not  keep  silent  about  herself  forever,  and  so 
expressed  her  surprise  at  the  difference 
between  New  York  and  the  West  in  various 
vague  ways  that  intimated  future  confidences. 

"But  it's  a  hard  life,"  the  Westerner  said, 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  31 

as  she  paused  in  her  work  and  stared  thought- 
fully out  of  the  window  at  the  lifeless  hills. 
^'JvLst  why  Baker  and  me  stick  at  it — I  dunno. 
Times  we  make  a  little  money  on  a  claim  or 
something,  and  times  we  don't.  Times  we  live 
down  to  *Los'  in  a  bungalow,  with  roses  and 
geraniums  smothering  you  to  death  with  their 
funny  smells,  and  other  years  we're  out  on  the 
desert,  polishing  the  head  of  a  drill. 

^'But  if  Magnet  makes  good,  we'll  be  fixed 
till  kingdom-come,  I  guess.  Baker's  got  good 
ground,  and  he's  sure  the  ore  is  right.  I  only 
hope  we  can  make  some  Easterner  think  so, 
too.  They're  getting  to  know  entirely  too 
much  about  mines,  back  there.  One  of  them 
came  here  last  winter  in  tortoise-shell  eye- 
glasses and  a  thousand-dollar  fur  coat  to  look 
at  our  ground,  and  what  do  you  suppose  he 
said? 

"  'Ah,  ha !'  says  he,  looking  at  me  over  his 
glasses  like  a  wise  little  pig  that's  been  fooled 
once  on  cactus.  'But  does  the  ore  go  down, 
Mrs.  Baker?  That's  the  point  on  which  you 
must  satisfy  me.     Does  it  go  down?' 

''  Well,'  says  I,  kind  of  tired,  T  don't  know 
what  you  learn  in  your  little  books  back  East, 
but  it's  a  lead-pipe  cinch  it  don't  go  up,  dearie !' 


Z2  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

And  with  that  he  shut  himself  up  in  his  big 
coat,  and  wouldn't  peep. 

''Baker  only  laughed  when  I  said  Td  spoiled 
his  sale.  Baker  ain't  bad — for  a  man.  He's 
a  Native  Son  of  the  Golden  West,  and  he 
knows  our  luck  will  turn.  Most  likely  he's 
testing  it  out  on  the  wheel  right  now.  We 
won  three  hundred  last  night. 

''And  yet  I  sort  of  like  it  all,"  Mrs.  Baker 
went  on,  unmindful  of  the  amazement  in 
Alva's  face.  "It  seems  like  this  desert  coun- 
try gets  a  hold  on  you  just  because  there  ain't 
anything  here!  If  I  told  anyone  that  I  liked 
hot  rocks  better  than  trees,  or  sand  better  than 
nice  green  grass,  they'd  think  I  was  crazy. 
But  you'll  see,  dearie.  You'll  get  to  like  it, 
same  as  me." 

"Is  Magnet  a  healthful  place?"  Alva  asked 
presently.     "Do  many  people  die  here?" 

"Die?  What  for?"  responded  Mrs.  Baker 
absently.  "Oh,  a  few  get  shot  up  sometimes, 
and  they  were  finally  obliged  to  hang  one  man 
that  pestered  another  fellow  with  an  ax.  The 
cemetery's  right  out  behind  us  on  the  hill — 
you  can  see  the  headboards  from  the  back  win- 
dow. Mostly,  the  eppygrams  are  fairly  con- 
siderate.    It's  all  over  when  he's  dead,  you 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  33 

know.  But  Magnet's  a  pretty  decent  place — 
for  a  camp  where  there  ain't  any  law." 

'What  did  you  say?"  Alva  asked  sharply. 

*'No  law,  I  said.  No  sheriff — no  justice — 
no  police — no  nobody.  But  we  get  along. 
The  Committee  fixes  things  up,  mostly.  If  the 
Local  decides  against  a  man,  he  has  to  go, 
and  go  right  away!  They  sent  out  two  this 
last  week — fifty  miles  to  the  railroad — and  no 
water!" 

*'Has  there  never  been  a  sheriff?"  Alva 
asked,  while  she  tried  to  keep  something  out 
of  her  voice  that  persisted  in  creeping  in. 

*'Not  that  I  ever  heard  of.  He's  generally 
over  at  Independence,  the  county  seat — four 
days'  journey,"  the  other  woman  answered, 
with  a  wondering  glance  at  Alva's  depressed 
face.  "Oh,  don't  you  worry,  dearie.  Noth- 
ing can  happen  to  you.  Give  Magnet  a  little 
old-fashioned  home  cooking,  and  these  men 
will  rob  a  bank  for  you." 

Alva  spread  her  dishcloth  out  to  dry  on  the 
window  sill.  "I  think  I'll  take  a  walk  up  on 
the  hill,"  she  said.  "I'd  like  to  get  a  view  of 
the  town." 

The  Westerner  nodded  appreciatively. 

"Yes.     Go  look  round  a  bit,"  she  said,  in 


34  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

her  big,  friendly  way.     ''Go  up  on  the  top  of 
the  hill  and  look  down  into  the  valley.     You'll 
see  hell,  then — sure  enough/' 
* 'What  valley  V'  Alva  asked,  without  thinking. 

"Death  Valley.  There  ain't  but  one,''  was 
the  reply.  "But  don't  look  at  it  too  long. 
Folks  have  to  keep  happy  out  here,"  and  Mrs. 
Baker's  shrewd  eyes  seemed  trying  to  read  the 
girl's  thoughts,  "or  else  they  go  to  brooding 
and  get  queer.  But  you  won't  be  that  kind, 
I  guess.  You're  going  to  have  luck  in  this 
place.  I'm  thinking  you'll  go  out  of  here  a 
great  deal  happier  than  when  you  came  in." 

Alva  went  out  of  the  door  with  the  hon- 
estly meant  words  repeating  themselves  over 
and  over  in  her  mind.  Magnet  and  luck! 
Death  Valley — and  happiness!  It  was  en- 
tirely possible  that  she  might  have  luck,  but 
it  would  be  of  a  peculiar  kind. 

Five  graves  in  all  raised  their  small  mounds 
in  the  scattered  brush  of  the  hillside,  and,  after 
looking  about  her  to  see  if  anyone  were  watch- 
ing, she  paused  by  the  first,  and  read  its  in- 
scription : 

Jim  Bellingham, 

Died  January  21st. 

God  gives  a  good  deal  to  an  honest  dealer. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  35 

Alva  wondered — and  passed  on,  her  brows 
darkening,  her  Hps  compressed.  She  saw  that 
there  were  points  of  view  that  she  would  have 
to  learn.     Another  grave,  and  she  read : 

Swiss  Bob. 
Fired  his  last  shot,  August  12th. 
First  man  dead  in  camp.     He  went  loco. 
Some  says  heat — but  we  bet  on  whisky. 

The  woman  made  an  involuntary  sound  of 
disgust.  Why  did  men  say  such  cruel  things 
about  one  another?  Had  they  no  sense  of 
decency  or  fitness  ?  Yet  the  sardonic  note  did 
not  escape  her — a  grim  jest  at  the  perils  of 
this  dreadful  place  where  men  never  had  been 
meant  to  live. 

Two  more  mounds,  with  later  dates,  came 
under  her  eyes,  and  then,  a  little  apart  from 
the  others  and  set  in  the  soft,  sandy  earth  be- 
low a  reef  of  copper-stained  rock,  a  headboard 
on  which  the  writing,  although  dimmed  by  the 
elements,  stood  out  with  a  clearness  entirely 
sufficient : 

Donald  Jaffray, 

February  lOth. 

Found  shot. 

''Found  shot," 


36  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

Well — at  least  there  was  nothing  unneces- 
sary written  there. 

Staring,  dry-eyed,  at  the  thing  she  had  come 
those  thousands  of  miles  to  see,  the  woman 
found  herself  thanking  God  that  here  truth 
had  guided  the  writer's  hand  without  a  tre- 
mor. It  was  well  worth  her  journey — worth 
all  such  troubles,  past  and  to  come — to  find 
above  his  grave  anything  so  packed  with 
meaning  as  those  two  short  words,  for,  to 
Alva  Leigh,  they  meant  justification.  Just  as 
she  had  always  known  since  that  dreadful  day 
a  month  before,  Donald  had  been  murdered — 
brutally  and  with  malice  aforethought — and 
he  who  had  shot  him  had  run  away. 

Alva  raised  her  head  and  looked  out  across 
the  wide  cup  of  the  valley  at  the  serried 
ranges.  Wherever  she  dwelt  again  in  mem- 
ory's dreams,  it  was  far  from  Magnet,  for 
there  were  trees  and  grass  and  blessed  water 
before  her  eyes,  and  murmuring  in  her  ears 
a  lovable,  boyish  voice,  impetuously  vowing 
something  over  and  over  again.  Once  more 
she  saw  him  in  all  the  splendor  of  his  youth — 
tall,  strong,  alert,  bright-haired,  bright-eyed; 
a  joking,  fearless,  impetuous  man-boy,  whose 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  ^ 

tremendous  physical  vigor  had  been  as  much  a 
source  of  fear  for  him  as  it  had  been  a 
fascination  in  his  love.  Precious  years  of 
companionship,  the  ecstasy  of  being  needed  by 
another  human,  the  fulfillment  of  life's  pur- 
poses, the  wider  existence — these  were  the 
things,  then,  of  which  this  place,  had  robbed 
her,  for  they  all  lay  buried  forever  in  the 
mound  beneath  her  feet. 

Yet,  after  all,  it  was  the  conviction  of  per- 
sonal outrage  that  had  most  brought  about  her 
coming  to  this  place.  While  Alva  Leigh  was 
as  completely  removed  from  vindictiveness  as 
a  woman  may  be,  her  passionate  nature  in- 
sisted that  when  life  offered  her  the  most  de- 
sirable of  all  its  gifts,  and  man  ruthlessly 
swept  it  away,  then  someone  beside  herself 
must  suffer. 

But  as  she  stood  there  on  the  hillside,  she 
felt  the  tumult  of  her  feelings  gradually  sub- 
side. At  least  one  part  of  her  task  was 
done — she  had  found  him.  As  to  the  rest  of 
it,  she  realized  very  sensibly  that  only  the 
merest  beginning  had  been  made.  To  learn 
all  that  she  must  know — to  act  on  it  and  bring 
it  to  a  just  conclusion — would  take  time  and 


38  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

thought  and  care.  Therefore,  she  would  be 
thorough  and  unhurried.  Her  day  would 
come — she  had  no  fear  of  that. 

And  so  this  was  where  they  had  buried 
him! — here  on  these  bright  slopes  where  he 
had  penciled  his  last  letter  to  her  months 
ago — here  where  he  would  be  always  looking 
out  on  the  mystic  desert  twinkling  at  his  feet. 
And,  after  all,  what  better  place?  Where 
would  she  herself  have  laid  her  lover  down 
for  his  last  sleep  but  on  this  sun-warmed  hill- 
side, where  his  brave,  steady  eyes  could  gaze 
forever  on  the  soft  lure  of  the  mountains  and 
his  beautiful  body  lie,  dry  and  unsullied,  in  the 
virgin  sand  he  loved? — a  clean,  warm  wind- 
ing sheet  for  one  who  had  striven  for  her 
gain  and  her  happiness  in  this  frightful  place, 
only  to  be  wantonly  cut  down. 

She  thought  of  Mrs.  Baker's  prophecy. 

"Then  I  wish  for  luck!  God  grant  me 
luckr  she  cried  bitterly,  but  shuddered  at  the 
meaning  she  put  into  the  bright  word.  "I  will 
sow  my  life  away  in  chances — only  let  me 
reap!" 

As  she  turned  away,  a  sound  of  voices  came 
to  her.     Two  men  came  into  view  on  the  dike 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  39 

of  rock  above  her,  and  stood  with  their  backs 
toward  her,  absorbed  in  conversation. 

''Leaving  out  the  ground  we're  standing  on, 
you  can  have  the  other  five  claims  for  a  thou- 
sand dollars  apiece,"  said  a  voice  that  she  rec- 
ognized. 'TVe  been  figuring  to  hold  out  this 
one  for  myself.'' 

"And  let  us  do  your  prospecting  for  you," 
was  the  intelligent  response,  as  the  other  broke 
a  fragment  of  ore  over  a  sharp  rock  and 
weighed  it  instinctively  in  his  hand  before  he 
studied  it.  "Come,  now.  Why  don't  you  put 
a  figure  on  this  claim,  too?  I'll  be  perfectly 
frank  and  say  it's  the  best  of  the  lot." 

"You  don't  have  to  be  frank,"  was  the 
amused  reply.  "I  know  it's  the  best.  But  I 
have  another  purpose  for  this  ground." 

To  Alva,  listening,  came  the  realization  that 
with  the  opening  of  a  mine  on  that  spot,  the 
little  cemetery  would  almost  certainly  pass  out 
of  existence.  A  faint  chill  stole  over  her. 
What  would  these  men  do  to  her  grave  ? 

"It  might  make  all  the  difference  to  us,"  the 
other  urged,  with  a  note  of  warning.  "Think 
it  over." 

"No    use.     I    can't,"    came    the    answer, 


40  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

tensely    spoken.     "The    ground's    too    good. 
The  man  who  originally  owned  this  claim — '* 

The  speaker  paused  as  he  became  conscious 
of  Alva,  and  she  felt  a  pair  of  luminous  hazel 
eyes  center  on  her  and  instantly  widen.  Even 
before  she  could  incline  her  head,  he  was  leav- 
ing the  other  man  and  coming  toward  her 
with  undisguised  pleasure  lighting  up  his  face. 
Afterward,  she  remembered  that,  as  this  fine 
figure  of  a  man  strode  across  the  rubble  of 
rock,  his  eyes  held  hers  so  strongly  as  to  be 
all  of  him  that  she  really  saw. 

"I  hope  Magnet  looks  a  little  better  to  you 
than  it  did  last  night,"  he  said,  looking  down 
at  her  with  a  warming  smile,  and  somehow 
they  were  standing  together  with  hands 
clasped  as  if  they  had  been  old  friends. 
"Now  that  you're  to  be  here  for  a  while  or  so, 
you  mustn't  be  too  hard  on  us." 

More  than  the  words  alone,  the  optimism  in 
his  face  and  voice  acted  on  Alva  like  a  jovial 
challenge,  forcing  her  to  throw  off  her  melan- 
choly. She  caught,  too,  his  appreciation  that 
she  was  different  from  the  others  in  Magnet. 
But  this  was  not  a  matter  for  elation,  for  she 
felt  that  she  was  no  more  than  on  an  equal 
footing  with  himself.     An  impression  of  the 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  41 

night  before  was  crystallizing  into  the  knowl- 
edge that  they  two  were  of  one  kind. 

The  keen-eyed  Eastern  engineer,  loitering 
near  by,  instinctively  looked  himself  over  at 
the  sight  of  a  woman  and  gave  a  constructive 
touch  to  collar  and  tie.  Meanwhile,  he  fur- 
tively admired  the  large  eyes  shining  out  of 
their  dark  circles  and  the  momentarily  dra- 
matic pose. 

"Tragedy,''  he  said  to  himself,  and  thought 
of  paintings  he  had  seen.  "Tragedy,  past  or 
to  come,  or  I've  never  seen  it.  Good  stuff  in 
her,  all  right.  But  she's  too  high  tension — 
needs  a  'step-down' — she'll  burn  herself  out 
and  get  the  'loco.' "  Then  he  bowed  and 
walked  over,  at  the  other  man's  nod,  to  be 
presented. 

"Miss  Leigh — Mr.  Garcelon,  of  Boston. 
You  Easterners  really  ought  to  know  each 
other  as  soon  as  possible — for  protective  pur- 
poses, I  reckon." 

"Are  we  going  to  let  him  classify  us  this 
way  without  protest,  Miss  Leigh?"  the  ap- 
praiser of  mines  asked  quizzically,  as  he  smiled 
over  her  hand.  "I've  been  trying  hard  to  be 
a  Westerner  for  twenty  years,  and  this  is  my 
reward — to  have  my  unfortunate  choice  of  a 


42  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

birthplace  flung  in  my  face  at  every  turn. 
Are  you  foolishly  hoping  to  deceive  them, 
too?" 

''Yes,  indeed,"  Alva  answered,  with  an 
amused  gleam  in  her  fine  eyes.  'T'm  a  West- 
ern woman  from  to-day  forward.  But  don't 
let  me  interrupt.  Wasn't  somebody  buying 
something?" 

'Well — I  was  trying  to  buy  a  cemetery  for 
some  friends  of  mine  back  East,"  the  engineer 
responded  jocularly.  "But  Randall,  here — 
confound  him — won't  sell  out." 

Alva  felt  a  change  come  over  the  Western- 
er's manner.  He  seemed  to  retard  the  hu- 
mor in  the  other's  eye  while  he  made  a  grave 
reply  whose  poignancy  was  not  lost,  at  least, 
upon  the  woman. 

"Many  a  mine  is  a  graveyard  out  here,"  he 
said  soberly,  "but  sometimes  we're  just  a  little 
slow  about  reversing  the  two."  He  opened 
out  his  hand  with  a  slow  gesture  of  pity  over 
the  mound  across  which,  Alva  realized  with  a 
pang,  they  two  had  just  now  greeted  each 
other.  "These  fellows  all  tried  to  do  some- 
thing— ^here  in  this  God-forgotten  country — 
against  big  odds,  I  reckon — ^but  they  got  tired 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  43 

out.  Perhaps — ^perhaps  they'd  like  it  if  we'd 
let  them  sleep." 

Alva's  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  she  looked 
away  toward  the  mountains.  But  she  heard 
the  thoroughly  practical  Easterner's  surprise: 

"You  don't  mean  to  say  you'd  let  a  little 
thing  like  a  grave — " 

'Well — for  a  while  or  so,  at  least,"  was  the 
answer,  and  Alva  knew  that  the  transaction 
was  ended. 

Conscious  that  their  thoughts  had  taken  an 
unexpected  turn,  the  three  began  a  slow  re- 
turn to  the  town.  Alva  felt  herself  buoyed  up 
by  the  virility  of  the  two  men  and  a  conversa- 
tion that  had  suddenly  turned  humorous. 
And  while  she  followed  the  good-natured  ban- 
ter of  East  against  West,  she  remembered  that 
it  might  defeat  her  purposes  to  seem  either 
nervous  or  worried.  The  things  she  had  to 
do  would  take  time.  And  so  she  entered  into 
the  amusing  duel  of  wits  with  not  a  little  pleas- 
ure, with  the  result  that  when  she  parted  from 
them  at  the  Baker  doorstep,  the  middle-aged 
Easterner  bowed  impressively  and  took  his 
leave  in  his  best  manner.  He  wondered,  as  he 
departed,  if  Magnet  would  see  what  he  saw — 


44  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

a  place  and  a  woman  related  one  to  the  other 
in  no  conceivable  way. 

Alva  made  a  delaying  gesture  as  the  other 
of  the  two  was  about  to  leave  her. 

"IVe  been  wondering  a  little  how  you  knew 
I  was  Miss  Leigh/'  she  said,  curiously.  "I 
didn't  know  that  Td  mentioned  my  name  to 
anyone  here.  Not  that  I  wouldn't  give  it" — 
she  smiled,  for  there  must  be  no  mystery — 
"only,  it  seemed  rather  queer." 

"Yes."  He  nodded  appreciatively,  al- 
though he  did  not  meet  her  eyes.  "I  under- 
stand. And  you  will  be  thinking  about  last 
night,  too.  But  if  you  will  write  your  name 
on  a  tag  on  your  baggage — "  His  fine  white 
teeth  showed  pleasantly  in  a  smile  over  her 
perplexity,  and  he  made  the  short  open-handed 
gesture  that  seemed  to  do  duty  for  so  many 
words.  "Out  here  ladies'  names  are  easily  re- 
membered. But  I  will  be  going — about  now," 
and  his  luminous  eyes  shone  a  temporary  fare- 
well. "Remember — I'm  counting  on  you  to 
let  me  help!" 

"A  nice  man.  A  real  nice  man,"  the  ob- 
servant Mrs.  Baker  remarked,  as  Alva  re- 
entered the  house.  "He's  the  biggest  man  in 
camp." 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  45 

"What  does  he  do?"  asked  Alva,  for  she 
knew  that  the  time  had  come  when  she  must 
learn  everything  about  Magnet  that  was  to  be 
known. 

"Dick  Randall  is  hoist  engineer  for  the  Cac- 
tus Mining  Company,"  replied  Mrs.  Baker 
promptly.  "They're  sinking  a  double-com- 
partment shaft  over  in  the  North  Gulch. 
From  what  I  hear  the  men  say,  they'd  rather 
work  in  the  bottom  of  a  shaft  with  Dick  Ran- 
dall's bucket  hanging  over  them  than  any  other 
man's  in  camp.  He's  a  worker,  and  he  don't 
drink.  He's  got  the  judgment,  too — that's 
why  he's  president  of  the  miners'  Local  here. 
And  these  miners  wouldn't  elect  anybody  who 
wasn't  right.  He  has  too  much  power,  you 
see.  Whatever  Dick  Randall  says  goes  in 
Magnet — and  no  mistake  about  that!" 

For  a  second  time  that  day  Alva  felt  herself 
singularly  fortunate.  If  she  had  read  aright 
the  frank  interest  with  which  the  man  re- 
garded her,  she  had  made  something  more 
than  an  ordinary  friend  of  the  one  person  who 
could  tell  her  all  that  was  to  be  known.  She 
began  to  feel,  too,  that  he  was  one  whom  she 
might  trust  unquestioningly. 

"Has  he  always  been  a  hoisting  engineer?" 


46  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

she  asked,  with  an  interest  that  gave  her  a 
twinge. 

"How  do  you  mean?"  was  the  puzzled 
query.  "You  mean — was  he  up  in  the  world 
once — and  down  now?  There  ain't  any  good 
in  those  ideas,  dearie.  A  man's  a  man — or  he 
ain't!  I  guess  he's  got  education  enough  for 
any  woman — if  that's  what  you're  looking  for. 
Dollars  don't  count  for  much  out  here,  where 
a  bum  of  a  prospector  can  turn  into  a  million- 
aire overnight.  Randall's  got  claims  enough 
— and  good  ones,  too." 

Alva,  on  her  way  back  to  her  room,  paused 
to  think  of  a  way  to  appease  the  offended  West- 
erner, and  then  went  on,  her  mind  suddenly 
centering  itself  on  a  clear-cut  recollection  that 
drew  her  dark  brows  into  a  frown  of  per- 
plexity. 

Her  baggage — the  shawl  strap  and  suit  case 
— lay  open  on  the  floor  of  her  room  where  she 
had  left  them.  Around  the  handle  of  each 
she  saw  a  piece  of  heavy  twine  and  the  eyelet 
of  a  card-board  tag.  It  was  quite  true  that 
she  had  written  her  name  on  the  tags,  as  he 
had  said,  but  it  was  also  true,  now  that  she  re- 
membered it,  that  she  had  destroyed  the  tags 
when  she  had  left  the  train  two  days  before. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  47 

As  she  stood  there  wondering,  Mrs.  Baker's 
voice  came  to  her  through  the  open  doorway: 

''Randall's  going  to  make  more  money  than 
any  of  us.  He's  relocated  that  cemetery  claim 
that  belonged  to  a  young  fellow  named  Jaffray, 
that  got  shot.     Dick  Randall  is  an  able  man/' 


CHAPTER  IV 

WHEN  Alva  came  to  look  back  on  it,  the 
most  surprising  phase  of  her  estabHsh- 
ment  in  Magnet  was  the  ease  of  its  accomphsh- 
ment. 

Blewitt,  the  professional  optimist  in  the 
Town-site  office,  promptly  leased  her  "the  best 
corner  lot  in  town — until  we  strike  the  sul- 
phides." He  also  attempted  a  series  of  social 
calls  in  the  evening,  until  Alva  positively  dis- 
claimed all  intention  of  buying  Magnet  real 
estate  for  permanent  investment;  whereupon 
the  town-site  man's  optimism  in  both  Love  and 
Realty  waned  perceptibly  and  he  finally  ex- 
hibited a  picture  of  his  wife. 

From  the  lumber  yard,  gleaming  yellow  in 

the  gray-green  flat  below  the  town,  came  a 

discursive,      calculating      individual      named 

*'Andy,"  pleasantly  redolent  of  sawdust,  whose 

ever-present  foot  rule  estimated  successfully 

on  a  dining-room,  kitchen,  and  living  tent,  with 

all  materials  supplied  and  work  done. 

A  half  hour  in  Palestine  with  Bindelmann, 
48 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  49 

of  the  Magnet  Mercantile  Company,  brought 
an  efficient  six-hole  range  by  special  freight 
from  somewhere  in  the  outer  world  four  days 
later. 

The  water  man,  whose  teams  brought  Mag- 
net's only  supply  from  the  spring  at  Ash 
Meadows,  forty  miles  away,  calculated  Alva's 
needs  at  one  barrel  every  two  days,  and  said 
it  would  be  only  fourteen  dollars  *'to  a  lady" 
and  "no  hurry  about  payment."  Alva's  inter- 
est was  evenly  divided  between  the  water  man's 
uncanny  ability  to  drive  twenty  fractious  ani- 
mals with  only  a  jerk  line,  and  the  astounding 
fact  that  he  was  making  enough  money  to  keep 
his  daughter  at  a  Conservatory. 

The  firewood  difficulty,  although  apparently 
insurmountable,  was  finally  solved  by  a  young 
Mormon  teamster  who  came  to  her  rescue  after 
her  first  collection  of  odds  and  ends  had  roared 
up  the  chimney.  The  boy,  although  not  yet 
twenty-one,  was  pathetically  strong  in  a  faith 
whose  strange  tenets  Alva  strove  in  vain  to  ap- 
preciate, and  was  soon  to  be  sent  by  his  bishop 
on  a  ''mission"  to  far-away  Denmark,  without 
the  formality  of  even  learning  the  language. 
Meanwhile,  he  drove  unmeasured  miles  across 
the  desert  daily,  and  by  his  own  confession  dug 


50  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

Alva's  firewood  out  of  the  ground  with  a  hoe ! 
Which  accomplishment  did  not  diminish  her 
respect  for  either  his  superior  religious  knowl- 
edge or  his  tenacity  of  purpose. 

Shortly  after  this,  a  middle-aged  person 
called  "Sarah,"  with  stringy,  iron-gray  locks 
and  a  suspicious  nose — but  who  had  "stopped 
drinking  now" — suddenly  appeared  from  no- 
where at  all  and  announced  that  she  had  come 
to  do  the  cooking.  With  this  last  important 
asset  obtained,  and  the  hiring  of  two  vague- 
faced  waiters  from  the  underworld  of  hobo- 
dom,  Alva  found  her  curious  establishment 
complete. 

"But  don't  you  pay  any  of  'em  one  red  cent 
till  you  get  a  good  stake,  Alva,"  Mrs.  Baker 
warned  innocently,  as  the  two  women  sat  to- 
gether on  a  pile  of  fragrant  lumber  in  the  sage- 
brush and  watched  the  dazzling  white  canvas 
of  the  dining  tent  being  drawn  over  its  frame- 
work. "Let  'em  take  a  chance.  We  all  do. 
Baker's  out  rustling  boarders  for  you  right 
now.  He's  got  Levy  Brothers  of  the  Bon  Ton 
Store  promised  good  and  hard,  three  nice 
gamblers  from  the  Green  Front,  and  a  very 
good-looking  man  that  they  think  robbed  the 
Mohawk  Mine  in  Goldfield,  who  has  lots  and 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  51 

lots  of  money.  He  was  figuring  on  bagging 
two  Swedes  that  came  in  last  night,  too,  but  I 
says,  *No.  Swedes  eat  all  the  ketchup.  Just 
get  white  men  for  Alva.  She'll  have  enough 
as  it  is.'  And  so  you  will.  You'll  take  in  a 
hundred  dollars  the  very  first  week  and  be  all 
clear  by  the  end  of  the  second.  You  just  see  if 
you  don't." 

The  two  weeks  were  over  now,  and  Alva 
stood  in  her  doorway  in  the  late  afternoon  won- 
dering how  it  all  had  happened.  Not  only  had 
she  twice  as  many  boarders  as  she  needed  for 
appearance's  sake,  but  this  remarkable  busi- 
ness seemed  virtually  to  run  itself,  or  else  there 
was  some  wonderful  stimulant  in  the  wine- 
sweet  air  that  made  her  act  and  think  without 
an  effort.  But  presently  it  came  to  her,  since 
pride  in  her  success  as  a  boarding-house  keeper 
had  no  place  in  her  underlying  intention,  that 
she  had  not  done  it  at  all,  but  that  those  who 
knew  had  come  and,  with  clear-sighted,  efficient 
honesty,  had  done  it  all  for  her. 

The  afternoon  sun  softened  and  colored  the 
bright  ranges  with  slanting,  wine-purple 
shadows.  The  panorama  of  flaming  buttes 
and  valleys  and  wide  deserts  turned  into  a  vast, 
soft  fairyland,  where  unfamiliar  peaks  swam 


52  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

into  view  a  hundred  miles  away  through  the 
haze,  glimmered  for  a  time,  and  then,  suddenly, 
were  gone,  and  dry  lakes  shimmered  and  lured 
and  in  their  turn  faded  slowly  from  sight. 

Alva's  bosom  swelled  with  a  full  inhalation 
of  the  sweet,  keen  air,  while  her  limbs  quivered 
with  a  moment's  flashing  joy  in  mere  living. 
With  clear,  strong,  newly  brightened  eyes,  she 
searched  her  view  hungrily  for  the  fanciful 
mysteries  her  imaginative  nature  loved  to  cre- 
ate among  those  distant,  blue-hazed  hills,  ex- 
alted by  the  mere  sense  of  illimitable  distance. 
She  wondered  how  people  could  do  wrong  in 
so  wonderful  a  land.  How  could  men  be 
wicked  where  the  world  was  so  wide  and  si- 
lent and  where  a  human  being  was  so  very 
small?  As  for  herself,  it  was  like  a  great 
temple  where  she  could  worship  silently,  with 
the  ever-whirring  wind  for  a  resonant-voiced 
chorister  beneath  a  blue-vaulted  roof  that 
arched  up  from  gleaming  colonnades  of  hills. 

The  sun  sank  lower.  The  castled  peaks 
marched  forward  in  the  reddening  light,  stood 
still,  then  dwindled  away.  The  sky  was  a  tur- 
quoise dome  behind  a  bank  of  golden-crested 
buttes.     *Tt's  the  outer  gate  of  heaven,"  she 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  53 

whispered  to  herself.  ^Tt  brings  me  close  to 
God." 

Then  her  eyes  strayed  north  to  the  canon 
where  Magnet's  basin,  narrowing,  ran  down  to 
Furnace  Creek  and  Death  Valley.  With  its 
last  slant  the  sun  streamed  through  a  split  in 
the  darkened  western  hills  and  smote  the  red 
porphyry  cliffs  of  the  gorge  with  a  blaze  of 
fiery  light.  Alva  shuddered.  Seamed  like  a 
drunkard's  cheek  and  pitted  as  if  with  disease, 
the  flaring  cliffs  that  led  down  to  the  shunned 
place  below  seemed  like  a  row  of  hideous  ward- 
ers at  the  gate  of  hell. 

She  turned  her  eyes  away  with  a  tremor  of 
fear.  The  contrast  between  the  frightful 
gorge  and  her  beautiful,  wide  vista  of  a  mo- 
ment ago  seemed  to  her  the  contrast  between 
life  and  death,  or  purity  and  sin.  She  felt 
as  if  she  had  been  sitting  alone  at  night  by  her 
window  and  an  evil,  frightfully  scarred  face 
had  suddenly  leered  in  on  her.  Her  exaltation 
left  her  abruptly,  while  her  sense  of  im- 
agery remained.  She  began  to  see  this 
town  of  Magnet  as  she  had  seen  her  two 
views — a  place  of  vivid  contrasts,  of  horrors 
and  beauties,  of  boundless  generosity  and  hot- 


54  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

blooded  crime,  of  abrupt  changes  from  right 
Hving  to  wrong  Hving,  where  strong  men  grew 
stronger  and  weak  men  weaker,  and,  above  all, 
where  he  who  would  live  happily  must  keep 
himself  quite  sane  and  pure  of  heart. 

But  among  all  these  things  Alva  could  see  no 
danger  for  herself.  She  knew  her  nature  and 
her  purpose  to  be  sufficiently  sane.  There  was 
no  danger  that  she  would  obtain  a  jot  more 
than  was  her  due.  An  eye  for  an  eye  and  a 
tooth  for  a  tooth.  Some  one  man  to  pay  with 
his  life  for  Donald's.  And  she  would  find  him 
— if  not  in  Magnet  then  elsewhere.  Mean- 
while, she  thanked  God  that  the  righteousness 
of  her  purpose  would  keep  her  sane. 

All  things  considered,  she  felt  that  she  had 
been  very  successful  since  she  had  come  to 
Magnet.  Only  two  weeks  had  passed  and  she 
already  knew  the  name  of  every  man  who  had 
been  in  the  camp  in  February  and  who  might 
know  how  Donald  had  met  his  end.  Three 
men,  in  particular,  she  felt  might  have  some- 
thing to  tell  her.  One  of  these  was  a  sharp- 
faced  young  miner  named  Duncan,  who  seemed 
in  some  uncanny  way  to  read  her  thoughts 
whenever  she  spoke  to  him.  Without  having 
mentioned  Donald's  name  to  him,   she  felt. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  55 

nevertheless,  that  he  had  divined  the  reason 
for  her  presence  in  the  camp,  and  until  she 
could  test  him  to  her  own  satisfaction,  she  was 
wary  of  trying  for  the  knowledge  which  he 
often  seemed  on  the  point  of  imparting. 

Another  of  the  three  was  a  product  of  the 
saloons — Danny  the  Bum — half-witted,  bleary- 
eyed,  unshaven,  unbelievably  dirty  and  forlorn, 
whose  mental  fumblings  produced  a  strange 
mixture  of  useless  fact  and  fancy  concerning 
Donald,  which  always  began  and  ended  with  a 
vivid  recital  of  his  generosity.  But  just  what 
form  this  trait  had  taken  Alva  could  never  as- 
certain. Try  as  she  would,  she  could  extract 
nothing  further  from  the  ill-starred  but  cau- 
tious Danny  than  that  Donald,  true  to  his  na- 
ture, had  been  reckless  with  his  nights. 

The  third  of  her  possibilities  was  Richard 
Randall. 

Alva  wondered  how  the  man  had  come  to 
acquire  Donald's  claim.  She  knew  enough 
about  such  things  now  to  see  the  great  value 
of  the  ground,  and  yet  the  transfer  of  this  par- 
ticular property  was  decidedly  vague.  But  be- 
cause she  must  have  a  clew,  she  must  disregard 
nothing,  and  she  soon  decided  again,  as  she  had 
decided  many  times  before,  to  ask  him  about 


56  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

it.  At  first  this  seemed  an  easy  thing  to  do, 
for  she  had  never  forgotten  the  sudden  glimpse 
of  his  nature  that  the  man  had  given  her  when 
the  sale  of  his  property  had  seemingly  hung  in 
the  balance.  She  even  liked  to  repeat  what  he 
had  said:  "Perhaps  they'd  like  it  if  we'd  let 
them  sleep.'' 

But  after  all,  was  that  everything  he  had 
said?  Hadn't  he  also  said:  *1  have  another 
purpose  for  this  ground?"  When  she  coupled 
this  sentence  with  the  sudden  disbelief  that  he 
would  refuse  a  good  price  simply  because  of  a 
grave,  she  began  to  feel  disturbed.  Poetical 
ideas,  she  knew,  had  scant  circulation  in  Mag- 
net. She  began  to  suspect  that  she  had  in- 
vested her  Samaritan  with  altogether  too  much 
of  the  romantic.  And  so,  once  started  on  this 
moody  road,  she  proceeded  to  go  farther,  and 
in  due  time  had  stripped  him  mercilessly  of  one 
charitable  motive  after  another,  until  the  ugly 
question  again  came  up  as  to  how  he  had 
known  her  name  on  that  first  day. 

Right  there  she  decided  finally  and  abso- 
lutely, as  she  had  already  decided  a  correspond- 
ing number  of  times  the  other  way,  to  ask  him 
nothing.  While  there  might  be  a  multitude  of 
ways  in  which  he  could  have  learned  it,  yet  the 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  57 

damning  fact  remained  that  he  had  Hed  about 
it,  and  the  restraint  that  sprang  from  this  was 
sufficient  to  keep  them  apart  on  the  subject. 
Yes,  and  if  she  could  manage  it,  on  other  sub- 
jects, too. 

But  there  were  still  some  things  which 
puzzled  her,  and  she  went  into  her  kitchen, 
where  the  gray-haired  old  woman  sat  on  the 
doorstep  peeling  potatoes. 

"Sarah,"  said  Alva  pleasantly,  "tell  me  who 
sent  you  here  to  work  for  me." 

"Dick  Randall,  of  course,"  Sarah  answered 
promptly.  "He  made  me  cut  out  the  booze, 
too,"  she  added  cheerily.  "  'Sarah,'  says  he, 
'your  pretty  daughter,  Rosie,  in  Bullfrog,  was 
a-askin'  f  er  you,  Sarah — and  I  told  her  she  had 
a  good  old  ma  who'd  be  back  home  soon  with  a 
big  stake  to  help  make  clothes  for  the  baby.' 
And  say!  You  oughter  see  me  give  them 
saloon  men  the  laugh  then!  Babies  always 
did  beat  whisky,  anyhow." 

"Sarah,"  said  Alva  again,  after  a  thought- 
ful moment,  "don't  you  think  that  fifteen  dol- 
lars a  month  is  very  little  to  pay  for  leasing  this 
lot  from  the  Town-site  Company?" 

''Town-site!"  echoed  Sarah,  in  genuine 
amazement.     "Why,  this  lot  ain't  the  Town- 


S8  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

site's!  Whoever  told  you  that?  This  lot  be- 
longs to  Dick  Randall!  Fifteen  dollars  a 
month!     I  should  say  that  was  cheap !" 

'T  thought  so,  too/'  said  Alva  quickly. 
'Tlease  say  nothing  about  it." 

There  seemed  to  be  little  need  to  probe  far- 
ther into  the  ease  of  her  establishment  in  Mag- 
net. Even  the  question  as  to  why  the  water 
man  sold  her  on  time  instead  of  for  cash  was 
fully  answered.  A  faint  color  rose  in  Alva's 
creamy  cheek.  Then  her  attention  was  called 
to  a  woman  who  was  idly  looking  in  at  the  door, 
with  a  curious,  ruminating  expression  on  her 
face. 

This  woman,  whom  Alva  had  never  seen  be- 
fore, was  both  tall  and  conspicuously  well  fig- 
ured. Her  face  was  strong  rather  than  weak, 
although  the  generous  mouth  was  cynically 
curled  at  the  corners,  and  her  large,  washed- 
out  blue  eyes  seemed  to  hold  a  mingling  of 
yearning  and  resentment  as  they  appreciated 
the  well-kept  interior.  Her  head  uncovered, 
was  a  mass  of  blowsy,  not  unattractive  red  hair. 
She  seemed  to  be  still  in  her  twenties. 

As  the  woman's  eyes  rose  to  hers  with  lan- 
guid insolence,  Alva  felt  every  muscle  in  her 
body  tighten. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  59 

"Hullo,"  said  the  woman,  regarding  her  with 
interest.  '1  was  just  passing  by.  Thought 
rd  look  in." 

Alva  knew  what  was  meant.  '1  have  heard 
about  you  and  I'm  here  to  see  what  you  are," 
was  what  the  red-haired  woman  might  as  well 
have  said.  Alva  inclined  her  head  and  felt 
that  she  was  being  looked  over.  Presently  it 
seemed  as  if  there  was  something  more  than 
decent  curiosity  in  the  woman's  face.  Alva 
blazed  with  anger.  Her  eyes  grew  larger  and 
her  eyebrows  level,  as  was  their  way.  Her 
face  flushed  in  spite  of  herself. 

"Well — you're  surely  a  good-looking  wom- 
an," the  other  said  bluntly,  and  the  bold 
eyes  wavered  as  if  she  felt  the  contrast  be- 
tween Alva's  satiny  skin  and  her  own  coarsely 
marked,  though  handsome,  face.  "I  guess 
you're  a  good  woman,  too.  It's  handy  to 
know  who  is  and  who  isn't  in  this  hell  hole," 
she  laughed  unmirthfully.  "Well — so  long. 
Most  likely  you  want  to  work.     Wish  you 

luck.     Be    sure   you   make   the   d d   rats 

pay  their  way."  And  with  this  venomous  ad- 
vice she  turned  away,  picking  a  path  between 
the  bushes  and  heaps  of  glittering  bottles  to- 
ward the  lower  purlieus  of  the  town. 


6o  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

Alva  dropped  a  sidelong  glance  and  saw  old 
Sarah  staring  after  the  stranger  with  her  lips 
parted  in  a  snarl. 

"And  to  think  that  she  spoke  up  to  the  likes 
of  your  the  old  woman  gritted  savagely.  'I'd 
like  to  tear  her  eyes  out!  But  it'll  wait,  I 
guess.  She'll  get  hers — some  day.  Old 
Mister  Barleycorn  will  ketch  her  soon.  Those 
piano-playing,  singing  women  get  nutty  streaks 
on  the  men  the  same  as  you  and  me,  and  when 
they  can't  get  the  one  they  want,  they  go  to 
drinking.  It's  the  talk  round  town  that  this 
one — 'Tiger   Lil' — is   gone   clean   daffy   over 

Dick Oh,  my!     There  you've  gone  and 

shook  your  tea  canister  all  over  my  nice,  clean 
floor!  Well,  never  you  mind  one  bit,  Miss 
Alva.     You  let  me  sweep  it  up." 


CHAPTER  V 

MAY  had  come  and  gone,  taking  with  it 
what  few  sweet  odors  of  spring  had 
struggled  unequally  for  life  in  the  valley,  and 
brazen  summer  refracted  hotly  from  the  hills 
and  blazed  down  from  every  flaming  butte. 

All  through  the  long  day  the  mountains  had 
been  gauzy  with  a  haze  of  heat,  and  as  Alva 
came  homeward  from  Mrs.  Baker's  in  the  early 
evening,  the  star-shot  night  was  still,  even  of 
the  ever-whirring  wind. 

From  where  she  walked  in  the  safe  center  of 
the  street,  she  could  see  Magnet,  with  its  lamps 
lighted,  leap  feverishly  into  its  course  as  a 
roaring,  flaring  *'boom''  camp.  All  around 
her  in  the  warm  darkness  were  voices  and 
laughter,  carried  through  the  thin,  still  air  as 
over  water — a  sense  of  constant  movement — a 
ceaseless  ripple  of  pianos — grotesque  shadows 
passing  and  repassing  on  the  walls  of  the  glow- 
worm tents — the  whir  and  clatter  of  the  rou- 
lette ball  in  the  shouting  saloons. 

Spring  and  **the  ore''  had  brought  prosper- 
6i 


62  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

ity  to  town.  Automobiles  without  number, 
from  the  older  camps  of  Tonopah,  Goldfield, 
Manhattan,  and  Rhyolite,  stood  in  front  of  the 
stores,  their  engines  throbbing,  their  headlights 
cutting  long  paths  down  the  dark  street.  An 
odor  of  good  cigars  was  abroad.  Eastern 
voices  talked  incisively  of  '"options,"  "groups," 
and  "sulphides."  Stout,  ruddy-faced  men 
with  well-trimmed  white  mustaches  were 
pointed  out  to  unshaven  ones  in  prospecting 
boots;  whereupon  the  boots  sauntered  with 
well-feigned  casualness  in  the  direction  indi- 
cated. Now  and  then  a  roisterer  on  the  out- 
skirts emptied  his  revolver  at  the  stars. 

Magnet  was  "on  the  boom,"  and  Magnet, 
rioting  along  with  all  the  arrogance  of  new- 
made  fortunes,  was  well  aware  of  it;  where- 
fore the  night  must  be  a  time  for  fun  too  long 
postponed.  And  so,  through  all  the  action  and 
full-blooded  life  of  the  moment,  a  sense  of  joc- 
ularity was  everywhere  round  about,  and  heard 
above  it  all  by  each  eager  ear  was  the  whir  of 
the  wings  of  Chance. 

Unmolested  in  her  quiet  passage  of  the 
street,  Alva  paused  in  her  doorway  and  looked 
back.  Never  before  had  she  felt  so  completely 
outside  of  all  these  people's  lives.     Something 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  63 

perilously  like  bitterness  rose  to  her  lips  at  the 
contrast  between  her  purpose  and  the  frankly 
pursued  ends  of  those  around  her.  She  sud- 
denly longed  to  be  at  one  with  Magnet,  for  all 
its  fantastic  promises  and  lurid  ambitions. 
At  least,  its  ideals  were  healthy,  even  if  their 
probable  attainment  might  be  questioned. 

She  raised  her  arms  above  her  head  with  a 
thrill  of  yearning  for  action  and  a  part  in  the 
bright  game,  if  only  as  an  outlet  for  her 
abounding  vitality.  The  chrysalis  was  break- 
ing at  last.  Never  a  day  came  in  this  wide 
land  but  the  sun  shone  mightily  and  the  wind 
blew.  And  as  it  streamed  to  her  through  the 
fingers  of  the  hazy  peaks,  keen  and  dry  and 
tanged  with  the  scent  of  far-off  worlds,  it 
seemed  searching  out  the  lifeless  things  of 
memory  to  blow  them  away  with  the  dried 
leaves  of  yesterday. 

She  thought  of  Natalie,  who  was  now  in 
Italy — Mr.  Bagby  had  forwarded  her  last  let- 
ter from  Ravenna — and  she  wondered  what  the 
Warrens,  especially  the  easy-going,  matter-of- 
fact  Jim,  who  always  let  things  ^'work  them- 
selves out,^'  would  say  if  they  knew  the  strange 
life  she  was  leading  to-day.  She  had  told  only 
a  very  few  people  that  she  was  going  to  Cali- 


64  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

fornia,  and  only  Nannie  Ferguson  and  Mr. 
Bagby  had  her  postoffice  address,  so  that  at  the 
most  her  old  circle  would  think  she  was  at 
Pasadena  or  San  Diego.  People  were  asking 
about  her,  however,  for  the  fact  of  her  inheri- 
tance had  been  paragraphed  in  a  society  jour- 
nal of  which  she  had  a  copy,  and  her  name  had 
already  been  linked  tentatively  with  several 
men  of  her  old  set  who  were  indubitably  in 
need  of  money. 

The  article  itself  was  only  a  hint  of  the 
sumptuous  life  in  the  East  that  she  was  confi- 
dently expected  to  enter  upon  without  delay, 
but  it  was  enough  to  bring  it  all  vividly  back, 
and  she  began  to  wonder  a  little  why  she  no 
longer  hungered  for  those  luxuries  which  her 
wealth  and  position  could  now  give.  She  real- 
ized that,  a  few  years  before,  if  she  had  not 
been  in  love  with  Donald,  she  would  unques- 
tionably have  accepted  the  life  and  its  men  as 
representing  all  she  mundanely  desired;  but 
when  she  considered  it  all  to-day,  she  felt  that, 
while  she  would  frankly  welcome  the  feminine 
side  of  that  soft  existence,  she  would  probably 
find  the  masculine  part  of  it  strangely  dissatis- 
fying. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  65 

At  first  she  very  naturally  laid  this  at  the 
door  of  her  age,  for  she  was  now  twenty-seven, 
but  gradually  it  was  borne  in  on  her  that  Mag- 
net had  wakened  her  to  a  new  and  truer  con- 
ception of  life,  and  that  her  unconscious  de- 
mand for  fiber  in  the  masculine  was  at  least 
one  result  of  the  desert's  teaching.  Putting 
aside  for  a  moment  the  sad  tangle  of  ideas  so 
persistently  connecting  Richard  Randall  and 
Donald,  she  delighted  in  imagining  circum- 
stances under  which  such  women  as  Natalie 
and  Sally  Lowe  might  meet  her  tall  Samaritan. 
She  fancifully  placed  the  desert  man  in  situa- 
tions where  only  inherent  grace  of  mind  could 
preserve  him  from  feminine  damnation,  and 
smiled  to  see  him  emerge  from  the  ordeal 
faintly  amused  and  wholly  unscarred.  And 
again  she  saw  his  quiet  eyes,  with  their  wealth 
of  reserve  power,  resting  calmly  on  some  able, 
keen-sensed  gentlemen  she  knew,  only  to  feel  a 
glow  of  confidence  in  his  thorough  understand- 
ing of  men,  whoever  they  might  be.  It  was 
undeniable,  of  course,  that  the  man's  source 
and  his  unfamiliarity  with  the  lighter  things 
that  would  always  be  part  of  her  woman's  life 
were  definite  quantities,  but  these  had  not  been 


66  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

included  in  Alva's  estimate  for  some  time  past. 
Life  in  Magnet  had  shown  her  the  greater 
value  of  certain  fundamentals. 

But  she  was  very  lonely  to-night,  and  her 
thoughts  eventually  turned  on  herself  and  the 
ever-present  problem.  She  began  to  speculate 
again  as  to  the  matter  of  Donald's  claim.  Al- 
though he  had  never  alluded  to  it  at  length  in 
his  letters,  except  to  speak  of  its  great  value, 
it  occurred  to  her  that  she  might  find  a  clew 
somewhere  in  the  packet  hidden  away  among 
the  few  possessions  she  had  brought,  and  on 
her  way  through  the  dining  tent  she  paused  to 
light  a  lamp,  so  that  she  could  bring  the  let- 
ters there  to  read.  When  she  returned,  a  fa- 
miliar figure  was  standing,  hat  in  hand,  in  the 
doorway.  Without  knowing  why,  she  hid  the 
letters  in  her  dress. 

"Magnet  might  be  called  a  little  noisy  to- 
night," he  said,  as  he  came  forward  at  her  wel- 
coming smile  to  where  they  had  sat  many  times 
before  with  her  oil-clothed  table  between  them. 
"A  lot  of  claims  have  changed  hands  lately. 
Some  of  the  boys  are  cutting  up.  I  hope  no 
one  is  bothering  you." 

''No.  You're  the  first  to-night,"  and  her 
touch  of  fun  found  a  reflection  in  his  own  swift 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  67 

smile.  'Tf  you  stay  too  late,  Til  notify  'the 
committee/  But  how  does  a  man  get  a  claim, 
in  the  first  place  V  she  added  carelessly.  "You 
were  going  to  tell  me  all  about  it  the  other  even- 
ing and  something  interrupted." 

She  moved  the  lamp  to  one  side  and  seemed 
to  have  trouble  with  the  wick.  Meanwhile, 
womanlike,  she  managed  a  complete  appraisal 
of  his  appearance.  She  found  him  cleanly 
shaven  as  always,  simply  dressed,  well  poised, 
and  with  a  steady,  friendly  light  in  his  lumi- 
nous eyes.  A  recollection  of  the  woman  at  the 
kitchen  doorway  came  into  her  mind,  but  was 
as  quickly  put  away. 

"He  finds  a  ledge — and  locates  it,"  he  an- 
swered. "That  means  building  a  discovery 
monument  on  the  outcrop  and  putting  other 
monuments  at  the  corners  of  the  claim.  His 
development  work  must  be  done  inside  of  three 
months  from  that  date.  Then  the  ground  is 
his  for  a  year  from  the  following  January. 
After  that  he  has  to  do  regular  assessment 
work  each  year  in  order  to  keep  his  title." 

"It  seems  very  simple,"  Alva  remarked. 
"Why  IS  it  that  they  so  often  have  trouble?" 

"Sometimes  men  think  that  others  have  com- 
mitted illegal  acts  in  locating,"  was  the  re- 


68  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

sponse.  ''Location  depends  on  a  man's  word. 
Generally  it's  respected.  But  there  are  some 
who  take  advantage  of  that  fact.  Nearly  al- 
ways they  get  caught.  I  have  met  one  or  two 
like  that." 

''Did  you  have  trouble?" 

"It  could  be  called  that,"  he  admitted  eva- 
sively. "But  trouble  always  depends  on  the 
men/'  His  eyes  strayed  away.  He  seemed 
about  to  speak  of  something  else. 

But  there  was  something  yet  for  Alva  to 
know.  She  turned  again  to  her  friend,  the 
lampwick,  and  moved  it  up  and  down.  Mean- 
while, she  asked  her  question : 

"What  happens  to  a  man's  claim  if  he — if  he 
goes  away — and  doesn't  come  back — that  is, 
in  time  to  do  his  location  work?" 

The  hand  on  the  table  before  her  beat  a  faint 
tattoo  before  the  answer  came. 

"In  that  case  it  reverts  to  the  government 
and  can  be  relocated." 

''When?"  asked  Alva  sharply. 

"At  the  end  of  the  ninety  days,"  he 
smiled. 

"But  might  not  others  relocate  it  before  then 
— if  they  were  very  anxious  for  it  and  knew 
that  the  man  might  never  come  back  ?" 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  6g 

*Tt  would  be  wrong,"  he  said  evenly.  ''No 
one  would  uphold  them  in  it/' 

Alva  was  puzzled.  Could  it  be  that  Donald 
had  not  done  even  the  first  simple  work  neces- 
sary to  holding  a  claim?  Yet  how  could  the 
man  across  the  table  have  secured  it  in  any 
other  way? 

"Generally  a  man  does  his  location  work  as 
soon  as  he  finds  his  ledge,  but,  of  course,  there 
are  exceptions  to  all  rules,"  he  said,  in  a  curi- 
ously level  voice.  Then  he  raised  fiis  eyes  to 
hers  with  an  amused  smile.  *Why  not  locate 
a  claim  for  yourself  and  see  how  it's  done? 
There's  some  good  ground  not  yet  taken  up 
along  the  cliflf  that  looks  down  into  the  valley. 
I've  been  thinking" — and  his  strong,  quiet  eyes 
looked  hopefully  into  hers — ''that  perhaps  we 
might  walk  out  that  way  to-morrow  afternoon. 
You'll  not  find  many  things  like  the  Valley  back 
East.  It's  only  a  mile  from  here.  Is  that  too 
far?"  he  asked,  with  some  concern. 

"Too  far?"  cried  Alva,  laughing  at  the  ridic- 
ulous challenge.  "Do  you  think,  sir,  I  must 
always  have  your  horse  to  ride?" 

With  this  answer  he  apparently  considered 
the  object  of  his  visit  accomplished,  for  he  rose 
and  held  out  his  hand. 


70  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

''You  could  have  him/'  he  said,  with  a  curi- 
ous Httle  nod.  ''He  hasn't  seemed  quite  the 
same  ever  since  that  first  night.  I  declare,  I 
just  don't  know  what's  got  into  him  lately.  It 
must  be  loco  weed.  He  won't  have  anything 
to  do  with  the  other  horses  in  the  corral  nowa- 
days.    He  seems  all  stuck  up !" 

"And  so  you  want  to  give  him  away — ^to 
mer 

"If  you  like  his  gait.  You  must  look  him 
over  first.  But  I'll  be  here  to-morrow  when  I 
come  off  shift."  He  lifted  his  hat  and  was  out 
of  sight  almost  at  once  in  the  darkness. 

"What  a  silly  thing  to  say  about  a  horse!" 
Alva  murmured.  And  then,  as  she  stood  in 
her  doorway  trying  to  recognize  a  disappearing 
figure  as  his,  she  felt  the  blood  steal  warmly 
into  her  cheek.  He  had  not  been  speaking  of 
his  horse. 

Her  hand  brushed  against  the  packet  of  let- 
ters in  her  skirt  and  she  clutched  them  with  all 
her  strength.  There  must  be  nothing  of  that 
kind — unless — unless  it  were  she  who  brought 
it  about  for  her  own  purposes.  Her  brow 
darkened.  By  what  curious  process  had  this 
man  obtained   title  to   Donald's   claim?     By 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  71 

what  right,  legal  or  moral,  had  he  assumed 
possession  of  this  precious  property  that  was 
still  lawfully  Donald's — aye — and  hers,  too. 

''Good  evening,  Miss  Leigh,"  said  a  voice  be- 
side her.  Duncan,  the  young  miner  from  the 
Cactus  shaft,  stepped  into  the  beam  of  light 
and  bowed  in  his  rather  pleasant  way.  ''See- 
ing you  were  having  callers,  I  figured  Fd  step 
over.'' 

Once  more  Alva  saw  the  look  in  the  young 
man's  eyes  that  seemed  to  show  an  insight  into 
her  affairs.  At  other  times  this  had  been  dis- 
turbing, but  to-night  she  decided  to  make  use 
of  his  knowledge.  Yet  she  did  not  ask  him  in, 
but  showed  him,  instead,  a  seat  beside  her  on 
the  doorstep,  where  the  light  shining  from  be- 
hind kept  her  face  in  the  shadow. 

''Everyone  here  seems  to  be  making  money 
nowadays,"  she  said.  "Are  you  selling  claims, 
too?" 

"I  only  wish  I  was,"  came  the  immediate  an- 
swer and  an  equally  quick  look  that  was  not 
hard  for  her  to  interpret.  "There  are  reasons 
why  I'd  like  to  get  my  hooks  on  a  few  thou- 
sands right  now.  But  I've  got  no  claims. 
Got    done   out    of    'em,"    he   added   bitterly. 


y2  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

"There  was  a  lot  of  midnight  locating  done 
here  a  while  back,  as  you  may  know.  But  TU 
get  square,  some  day/' 

''You  know  who  did  it,  of  course,"  said 
Alva.  "If  you  were  in  the  right,  why  couldn't 
you  make  them  give  it  up  ?'' 

"I  guess  you  don't  rightly  understand,  Miss 
Leigh,"  Duncan  answered  sourly.  "In  all 
these  places  there's  rings.  If  a  poor  man 
doesn't  get  into  the  ring  at  the  start,  he  stands 
no  show.  When  there's  two  or  three  big  men 
and  mebbe  some  guns  to  back  up  a  jumper 
when  he  knocks  over  your  monument,  what 
are  you  going  to  do?  Suppose,  now,  that  I 
come  into  this  yere  camp  when  it's  only  a  pup, 
and  I  see  a  likely-looking  fraction  stuck  away 
somewhere  in  a  good  group.  Suppose  their 
owners  are  the  men  that  run  the  camp — not 
mine  operators,  you  understand,  but  miners, 
these  yere  presidents  and  secretaries  and  of- 
ficers of  the  Federation.  What  chance  have  I 
got  against  ihem?  Do  you  reckon  I  kin  hold 
that  ground  if  it  isn't  recorded  and  surveyed? 
No,  ma'am !  Not  in  a  thousand  years !  They 
ain't  yere  for  their  health,  you  bet!  A  little 
bit  of  a  mistake  in  a  date  or  a  description  is 
good    enough    for    them.     Over    she    goes ! 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  73 

Kick  down  the  monument!  Tear  up  the  no- 
tice! Pull  out  the  guns!  Then  where  are 
you?" 

Alva  sat  still,  listening  intently  to  every 
word.  If  she  had  not  been  so  completely  ab- 
sorbed in  fitting  the  puzzle  together  with  the 
aid  of  this  new  evidence,  she  might  have  felt 
the  man's  mind  working  on  hers  with  almost 
uncanny  perceptiveness. 

'T'll  show  you  what  I  mean,"  he  said,  with  a 
ring  of  sincerity  in  his  voice.  ''Then  you'll 
know  more  about  some  of  these  fellows.  'Way 
last  fall,  a  man  comes  into  this  yere  camp.  I 
ain't  saying  how  old  he  was,  or  his  name.  I 
ain't  the  kind  that  looks  for  trouble.  But, 
anyway,  he  was  in  the  first  rush,  and  he  took 
up  a  lot  of  claims.  Some  were  here  and  some 
were  there,  and  one  was  a  fraction  on  the  best 
piece  of  outcrop  in  camp.  Now,  if  all  those 
claims  had  been  in  the  same  group,  he  could 
have  done  enough  work  on  one  of  them  to  hold 
the  whole  lot.  But  they  were  scattered.  He 
had  to  pick  away,  first  on  one  and  then  on  an- 
other. 

''Now,  while  he  was  doing  his  holding  work 
one  week  on  a  'way-oflf  claim,  a  man  who  owned 
all  around  this  fraction  looked  over  the  young 


74  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

fellow's  paper  and  saw  that  the  young  fellow 
had  located  the  same  day  he  did.  So  what 
does  this  man  do?  He  changes  his  own  date 
to  one  day  earlier,  and  then  he  pivots  his  claims 
on  his  discovery  monuments  so  as  to  cover  up 
the  fraction.  And  he  puts  up  his  permanent 
corners  and  side-centers,  and  gets  it  surveyed 
and  recorded.  And  he  crowds  that  young  fel- 
low out  and  says  there  ain't  any  fraction,  and 
never  was. 

"Now,  what  can  the  boy  do  ?  There's  a  Lo- 
cal to  appeal  to — yes — ^but  the  other  man's 
high  up  in  it.  In  fact,  he's  about,  at  the  top. 
Mebbe  you'd  call  him  at  the  top.  Yes. 
Let  it  go  that  way.  And  so  the  boy  gets 
laughed  at  and  he  feels  mean.  But  he 
has  good  stuff  in  him.  He's  a  fighter.  He 
won't  let  anyone  beat  him  on  a  little  techni- 
cality, and  he  won't  quit.  Only,  he  makes 
one  mistake." 

"What  was  that?"  asked  Alva  sharply. 

"Why — er — he  goes  to  packing  a  gun. 
Now,  that's  foolish.  I  carry  one  myself, 
sometimes — ^but  I  don't  make  threats.  So 
they  know  he's  got  the  gun,  and  that  he's  pick- 
ing up  evidence  against  them.  Things  begin 
to  look  bad.     They  have  to  make  a  move.     So 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  75 

this  is  what  they  do:  They  send  a  man  out 
after  that  young  fellow,  and  they  get  him  to 
drinking,  and  they  put  knock-out  drops  in  his 
glass.  And  then  another  Mr.  Friend,  who's 
all  ready  near  by,  gets  him  out  into  the  brush 
— 'to  get  over  it' — and  leaves  him  there.  In 
the  morning,  what  do  they  find?  They  find 
that  poor,  innocent,  hard-working,  nice  young 
fellow,  that  never  hurt  anybody  or  anything, 
lying  there  with  no  money  in  his  pockets — 
shot  with  his  own  gunT 

Duncan  halted  abruptly,  almost  dramatic- 
ally. Then  he  laughed.  "But  that's  the  way 
it  goes.     Simple,  ain't  it?" 

''Very  simple,"  Alva  answered  dully. 
"What  did  they  do  about  it?" 

''Do!  With  Mr.  Date  Changer  sitting  in 
the  Local  office  all  night  long  with  his  pals  so 
as  to  furnish  an  alibi?  What  could  they  do? 
They  buried  the  poor,  innocent  young  fellow — 
that's  all.     I — er — I  helped  'em  do  it. 

"I  tell  you  what.  Miss  Leigh,"  the  man  con- 
tinued venomously.  "You  don't  know — you 
never  could  know — the  kinds  of  men  there  is 
in  this  camp.  Goody-goody-looking  men  that 
are  so  crooked  they  couldn't  sleep  in  a  round- 
house.    Men  that  look  you  straight  between 


76  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

the  eyes  and  make  you  think  they're  sending 
money  home  to  their  mothers,  when  all  the 
time  they're  figuring  out  some  way  to  do  you 
up  and  make  it  look  as  if — as  if  the  desert 
beat  you !" 

As  if  the  desert  had  beaten  him!  A  month 
ago  the  phrase  would  have  been  meaningless, 
but  to-night  she  knew  to  the  uttermost  what 
it  meant.  Alva  had  felt  for  some  time  that 
the  very  lack  of  a  clew  pointed  to  brains  in  the 
crime's  engineering.  Now  the  light  was  be- 
ginning to  break. 

''But  I  don't  like  to  talk,"  the  man  continued 
shrewdly.  "I  don't  ever  say  much.  I  might 
get  misunderstood.  Danny  the  Bum,  he 
knows.  He's  up  all  night,  knocking  round. 
As  for  me — I've  got  to  sleep,  so's  I  kin  make 
my  wages.  And  I've  got  a  good  stake  saved 
up,  too.  It  won't  be  long  now  before  I  pull 
out  for  Idyho.  That's  the  country  you  ought 
to  see.  Miss  Leigh.  All  hills  and  woods  and 
green  valleys  high  up  with  grass  and  streams 
a-running  everywhere.  That's  the  place  fer 
a  young  couple  like  you  and  me  to  live. 
Mebbe  you'd  like  to — " 

'I'm    very    tired    to-night,    Mr.    Duncan," 
Alva  interrupted.     "If  you  don't  mind,  I'll  say 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  ^^ 

good  night.  Perhaps — if  you  happen  to  see 
Danny  to-morrow — you  might  tell  him  that 
Tve  some  work  he  can  do/' 

Chagrined  by  his  abrupt  dismissal,  the  man 
stood  by  in  silence  while  she  passed  in  and 
closed  the  door.  He  was  a  hard  bitten, 
shrewd  young  man  for  all  his  mask  of  sin- 
cerity and  he  had  laid  some  ingenious  plans 
as  to  the  future  of  Alva  Leigh.  He  had  not 
meant  to  speak  to-night  but  something  in  her 
despondency  had  lured  him  on  and  now  all  his 
careful  schemes  had  fallen  to  pieces.  He  had 
made  his  ''play''  and  lost. 

For  a  time  he  stood  there  in  the  darkness, 
meditating,  and  then  moved  away,  passing  si- 
lently between  the  tents  to  the  virginal  grease- 
wood  behind  them,  where  a  path  led  him  to  an 
isolated  tent-house  near  the  vague  bulk  of  the 
lumber  yard. 

There  was  a  light  in  the  house,  shining  out 
of  the  open  door,  and  on  the  doorstep  sat  a 
woman  with  red  hair  and  a  white  dress.  As  the 
man  came  into  the  light,  she  recognized  him 
and  spoke;  whereupon  he  stepped  out  of  the 
light  again  and  seated  himself  near  by. 
.  "Fve  just  come  from  there,  Lil,"  he  said, 
as  if  he  knew  why  she  was  sitting  there  alone, 


78  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

thinking.  "And  you  can  bet  on  it — you've 
got  no  show/' 

An  angry  exclamation  leaped  to  the  wom- 
an's lips  at  the  brutality,  but  she  choked  it  oflf 
and  laughed. 

"Neither  have  you,"  she  retorted.  "We're 
two  of  a  kind,  you  and  I,  and  we're  certainly 
beauts." 

"I  can't  see  it,"  he  objected.  "I'd  be  all 
right  for  her,  I  reckon,  if  I  had  a  stake.  You 
can  marry  any  woman  if  you  have  enough 
money,  and  you  don't  need  much  to  start  with 
if  you're  a  good  liar.  How  about  a  couple  of 
ten-spots,  Lillian?  Can  you  spare  it?  I'm 
cut  right  off  at  the  pockets  to-night — ^just 
when  I've  spotted  a  brace  of  Easterners  that 
I  could  work  into  a  little  game  of  stud.  Come 
through,  and  help  a  fellow  out." 

The  woman  narrowed  her  eyes.  "What  do 
you  know?"  she  asked,  as  if  she  would  bargain 
a  while. 

"I  know  this  much,"  he  answered:  "Either 
she  thinks  Randall  shot  young  Jaffray  for  his 
claim,  or  else  I'm  the  worst-fooled  man  in  ten 
counties.     And  you  can  bet  I  piled  it  in." 

"You  did?"  the  woman  murmured  thought- 
fully.    "Did  you  mention  names?" 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  79 

''Not  me.  It's  better  not.  But  it  hit  her 
hard — and  stuck.  I  saw  through  her  Httle 
game  a  month  or  more  ago.  I  wonder  what 
she  thinks  she  can  do." 

"Sometimes  those  women  can  do  a  good 
deal/'  was  the  sober  answer.  ''Even  when 
there's  very  Httle  evidence.  People  believe 
them,  you  see." 

He  looked  at  her  sideways  for  a  moment, 
meditating  some  new  viciousness. 

"Would  you  have  him  just  the  same  if 
it  was  true?"  he  asked. 

The  red-haired  woman  made  a  disgusted 
movement  that  showed  her  fiery  temper.  She 
had  to  grip  her  hands  together  to  keep  from 
striking  him.  Her  throat  filled  up  and  choked 
her  utterance. 

"I'd  take  Dick  Randall  quick  as  a  wink  if 
he'd  shot  the  whole  lot  of  you  for  your  claims," 
she  said  thickly.  "He's  more  than  you'll  ever 
be.     He's  a  man!'' 

"Then  you'll  have  your  chance,"  was  the 
acid  reply.  "He  did  it — and  there  isn't  a 
man  in  camp  that  knows  it  but  me.  I've  got 
him  any  time  I  want  him." 

For  a  moment  the  woman  said  nothing,  but 
only  stared  into  the  darkness,  where  she  had 


8o  HEARTS  STE;ADFAST 

heard  footsteps.     Then,  as  she  felt  him  dan- 
gerously near  her,  she  sprang  to  her  feet. 

''None  of  thatr  she  cried,  as  she  tried  to 
reach  the  house.  ''Don't  think  you  can  hold 
me  up !  Oh,  I  guess  I  know  who's  doing  the 
strong-arm  work  around  here  now,  and  I 
guess  I  know  who  shot  Don  Jaffray,  too. 
There'll  be  more  that  know  it  by  to-morrow. 
And  don't  you  try  to  tell  me  anything  about 
Dick  Randall.  If  you  had  anything  on  him, 
you'd  have  bled  him  to  death  months  ago,  or 
you'd  be  dead.     Let  me  in  that  doorT 

For  answer,  the  man  only  advanced  on  her 
silently,  driving  her  ahead  of  him  into  the 
greasewood  and  away  from  the  house.  In  his 
hand  he  held  a  glittering  object  gripped  like 
a  club. 

''Give  me  that  money,"  he  said,  in  a  low 
voice,  and  glanced  over  his  shoulder  at  an  in- 
distinct figure  that  seemed  to  be  approaching. 
"Tell  them,  if  you  want — and  spoil  your  own 
game.     I  didn't  think  you  were  such  a  fool." 

The  red-haired  woman  stood  still  for  a  mo- 
ment as  if  she  saw  the  truth  of  his  remark,  and 
then  suddenly  laughed  in  his  face. 

"Why,  hello,  Dick!"  she  cried,  in  a  strident 
voice  that  rang  out  across  the  open  spaces  to 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  8i 

at  least  one  of  the  tents  on  Main  Street. 
*'Here  he  is  behind  you,  right  now/' 

With  an  oath,  Duncan  whirled  about  and 
saw — Danny  the  Bum.  The  woman  laughed 
mockingly  and  slipped  by  into  the  house. 

Snarling  with  rage,  Duncan  drew  back  his 
fist  and  planted  it  squarely  in  the  gray-bearded, 
vacuous  face. 

A  few  yards  away  and  the  miner  turned,  as 
if  struck  by  a  sudden  thought,  and  looked  back. 
The  woman  had  left  the  protecting  doorway, 
and  was  helping  a  staggering  form  into  the 
house. 

*That  was  a  fool  trick,"  Duncan  muttered. 
'That  old  dope  can  make  a  lot  of  trouble  for 
me.  Well — I  guess  I'll  play  the  game 
through  to-night — then  quit.  My  luck's 
played  out." 

Halfway  up  the  main  street,  where  a  cross- 
road came  in  from  the  Magnet  Consolidated's 
shaft  a  mile  away,  two  large  acetylene  lights 
emblazoned  the  dubious  name  "Red  Onion"  on 
a  high-fronted,  frame  saloon.  Here  Duncan 
circulated  slowly  through  the  pay-night 
crowds,  and  carefully  spoke  to  all  the  men  he 
knew.  One  or  two  offered  him  drinks,  but 
he  shook  his  head.     He  wasn't  feeling  just 


82  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

right,  he  said,  to  all  those  who  could  hear  him, 
and  was  going  home  to  bed.  Another  circuitous 
voyage  through  the  smoke-hazed  bedlam,  and 
he  noticed  with  satisfaction  that  comparatively 
few  of  the  Consolidated's  men  had  come  over 
the  dark  trail  from  their  isolated  workings. 
Behind  the  bar  a  nickeled  clock  told  him  that 
it  was  only  eight-thirty.  His  thin  lips  came 
together  in  a  line  as  he  made  his  grim  calcula- 
tions. If  he  hurried  a  little,  he  could  get  to 
the  point  of  rocks  on  the  Consolidated's  trail 
at  just  about  the  right  time. 

With  a  cautious  glance  around  to  see  if  he 
were  noticed,  he  stepped  quickly  out  of  the 
back  door  of  the  saloon,  and  struck  out  through 
the  brush  at  a  rapid  walk.  But  as  he  went,  a 
shambling  figure,  which  had  been  wandering 
around  in  the  darkness  outside  the  saloon,  rec- 
ognized him,  and  saw  where  he  was  going. 
Presently,  after  some  obvious  skull  gropings, 
it  decided  to  follow. 

It  was  about  this  same  time  of  the  evening 
that  a  boy  came  and  stood  on  a  chair  in  the 
Miners'  Hall  across  from  the  Red  Onion,  and 
lighted  a  flaring  kerosene  lamp  which  dangled 
from  a  cross  beam.  This  done,  he  lingered 
on  the  steps  until  a  dozen  grave-faced  men  ar- 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  83 

rived  and  shut  the  door  on  their  deliberations, 
which  were  on  certain  hold-ups  that  were  be- 
ing committed  almost  nightly  in  the  camp  and 
the  line  of  action  which  should  be  taken. 

And  it  was  about  this  same  time,  also,  that 
a  woman  took  a  pen  and  laboriously  printed  a 
few  lines  on  a  sheet  of  pink  note  paper,  whose 
envelope  she  took  pains  to  address  in  the  same 
cautious  way. 

And  yet  another  woman,  alone  in  her  tent, 
sat  among  a  handful  of  letters  strewn  across 
her  bed,  alternately  puzzling  over  a  man's 
name  which  had  rung  out  just  now  on  the 
clear  night  air,  and  repeating  certain  phrases 
over  and  over  again  under  her  breath: 

"Found  shot."  "With  his  own  gun." 
"As  if  the  desert  had  beaten  him." 

Only  an  able  man  would  have  thought  of 
that. 


CHAPTER  VI 

WHEN  old  Sarah  called  to  her  a  little 
after  four  the  next  afternoon,  Alva 
turned  away  from  the  tiny  mirror  swaying 
against  the  frame  of  her  tent,  with  a  greater 
certainty  of  herself  and  what  she  purposed  to 
do  than  had  been  hers  at  any  time  since  she 
had  come  to  Magnet.  She  knew  perfectly 
well  that  she  could  never  hope  to  trap  a  man 
like  Richard  Randall  into  damaging  confes- 
sions, but  her  instinct  told  her  that  to-day  he 
was  ready  to  be  led  into  a  disclosure  of  his  true 
character,  whatever  that  might  prove  to  be. 

And  so  it  was  a  bright-faced,  apparently  in- 
terested woman  who  strode  untiringly  with 
him  up  the  sage-sweet  slopes  behind  the  town, 
and  entered  into  his  mood  with  a  careful  sym- 
pathy that  started  a  warm  flow  of  words. 

"I've  wanted  you  to  see  the  Valley  many  a 

time  since  you  came,''  he  said,  and  immediately 

the  strong  appeal  of  his  tones  was  upon  her, 

in  spite  of  her  determination  not  to  feel  it. 

'To  me,  this  is  the  solemnest  place  in  all  the 

84 


HEARTS  STEADFAST        .     85 

world — because  it's  so  silent."  They  had 
nearly  reached  the  summit  of  the  Funerals,  and 
already  a  ribbony  line  of  snow,  miles  away 
through  the  thin  air,  had  come  into  view  on 
the  other  side  of  a  great  gap  that  was  yet  un- 
seen. "Even  if  a  fellow  could  concentrate  si- 
lences the  same  as  you  concentrate  sulphides 
on  a  Wilfley  table,  I  reckon  these  Death  Valley 
silences  would  still  outrun  your  product  about 
a  thousand  ounces  to  the  ton." 

Then  they  gained  the  summit  of  the  range, 
and  Alva  put  out  her  hand  to  stay  his  words. 
She  saw  now  why  he  had  called  it  "solemn," 
and  she  saw  the  reason  for  its  name,  for  the 
presage  of  death  lay  in  every  stark  detail. 

Beneath  their  feet  a  great  cliff  of  burnt 
sienna  fell,  sheer,  a  thousand  feet.  Below 
this,  bright  terraces  of  hillocks  tumbled  down 
two  thousand  more  into  rocky  gorges,  and 
gray  beds  of  sand,  which  wound,  snakelike,  be- 
tween hills,  snow-white  and  orange  and  blood- 
red,  down  to  a  yellow,  heat-hazed  plain. 
Scorified  like  the  crimson  hulk  of  a  dead 
crater,  the  ghastly  gorges  and  hummocks  cut 
and  rolled  their  way  north  and  south  until  they 
faded  into  vague  blurs  of  color  in  the  smoky 
distance.     Directly  across  the  great  gap,  the 


86  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

bleak  front  of  the  Panamints,  capped  with 
snow,  rose  like  a  sinister  prison  wall.  And 
always  between  them  lay  that  glittering,  twink- 
ling, white-powdered,  yellow  plain — lifeless, 
hot,  and  still — attracting  with  the  fascination 
of  unfathomed  peril,  and  yet  as  repelling  as  a 
skull  grinning  through  a  shroud. 

The  woman  groped  behind  her  and  sank 
down  on  a  jutting  table  of  rock.  It  all  seemed 
a  perfectly  fitting  climax  to  the  premonitory 
wastes  behind  them.  Just  as  there  are  parts 
of  this  earth  that  promise  life  and  happiness 
at  first  sight,  so  this  place,  too,  had  its  declara- 
tion, but  the  silent  warning  that  came  up  to 
her  from  the  great  sink  below  was  that  of 
death  and  despair.  Nothing  could  palliate  its 
sterility — nothing  in  all  that  riot  of  color  north 
and  south  or  in  the  bleak,  stony  west  held  out 
the  faintest  hope  of  a  habitable  region  beyond. 
Hemmed  in  by  the  two  great  mountain  chains, 
the  hideous  basin,  with  its  gleaming  floor, 
seemed  like  a  great  smelting  pot  beneath  whose 
treacherous  golden  dross  a  hell  of  molten  metal 
bubbled,  yet  seemed  still. 

And  over  it  all  was  the  constant  sense 
of  heat — overpowering  and  unescapable — re- 
fracting upon  her  from  every  angle  of  the  hot 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  87 

rocks,  shooting  up  from  the  still  hotter  gorges 
and  burnt  hillocks,  reflecting  from  the  gilt- 
tering  miles  of  salt  and  borax  spread  out  il- 
limitably  below.  Even  on  the  high  edge  of  the 
cliff,  the  air  felt  dry  and  lifeless.  What  must 
it  be  down  there  where  the  yellow  surface 
rocked  with  gentle  undulations  as  the  bluish 
gauze  of  the  heat  waves  swam  up  and  down? 

Alva  turned  a  strained  look  on  the  man  be- 
side her.     She  felt  frightened. 

He  smiled  understandingly,  and  nodded. 

"It's  pretty  bad,"  he  said.  "Next  month  it 
will  be  the  worst  of  all.  Even  now  it  would 
be  hard  work  to  stay  alive  down  there  very 
long — where  even  flies  can't  live.  But  men 
have  had  to  do  it.  Some  Mormons  tried  it  a 
good  many  years  ago,  and  they  had  a  hard 
time.  They'd  sold  out  their  Utah  ranches  and 
were  traveling  west  over  the  old  California 
trail,  and  the  party  split  here  in  the  Funerals 
through  a  disagreement  over  an  Indian  guide 
who  knew  about  the  valley,  and  wouldn't  tackle 
it. 

"So  half  of  them  went  down  the  Amargosa 
Valley,  and  on  through  the  Soda  Lake  Sink 
country,  which  is  nearly  as  bad,  and  so  on 
through  to  what  is  now  Los  Angeles. 


88  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

"The  other  half  of  the  party  cut  across  the 
desert  behind  us  to  this  place,  crossing  a  few 
miles  up  there  to  the  north.  When  they 
reached  the  other  side,  they  found  they 
couldn't  get  up  through  the  Panamints,  and 
they  had  to  stop." 

He  pointed  across  the  sink,  with  its  winding 
rivers  of  salt  mush  and  borax,  to  where  a 
small  clump  of  willows  and  mesquite  dotted  a 
fanlike  arroyo  bed  at  the  foot  of  the  western 
wall.  "Do  you  see  that  tiny  green  spot? 
That's  a  spring  they  opened  up,  just  by  luck. 
Nowadays  men  call  it  'Bennett's  Wells.'  It 
was  the  only  thing  that  saved  them. 

"There  they  rested  for  a  while,  and  counted 
noses.  Some  had  dropped  behind — for  keeps. 
Then  they  tried  to  get  out,  going  north — all 
along  that  western  side — hunting  for  a  gulch 
where  they  could  get  their  wagons  up.  But 
they  didn't  find  it.  And  always  some  fellow 
got  enough  of  it  after  a  while,  and  dropped 
where  he  stood.  Because,  you  see — it  isn't 
lack  of  water  in  the  canteen  that  makes 
the  trouble  so  much  as  it  is  the  lack  of 
water  in  the  air.  Up  here,  there's  forty 
or    fifty    per    cent.,    we'll    say — down    there. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  89 

there's  only  ten,  or  maybe  fii^e.  It  isn't  thirst 
that  kills  in  Death  Valley.  It's  letting  your 
head  get  too  hot. 

*'Well — then — they  came  back — ^back  to 
Bennett's  Wells,  and  after  they'd  rested,  they 
began  to  figure  on  the  south.  They  were  an 
uncomplaining  lot,  those  old  Mormons,  and 
pretty  grim.  Down  south  they  did  better,  but 
their  animals  were  getting  weak,  and  it 
wouldn't  do  for  them  to  pull  a  pound  more  than 
was  absolutely  necessary.  So  they  figured 
that  they'd  better  leave  all  their  money  be- 
hind— buried  somewhere — two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  in  gold.  And  three  picked  men 
went  out  and  buried  it  over  there  on  the  slope 
south  of  the  Wells.  Then  they  went  on. 
There  had  been  about  forty  of  them  at  first. 
Now  there  were  a  lot  less. 

"But  it  was  hard  work  to  get  along,  and 
when,  just  by  luck,  they  stumbled  on  a  spring, 
they  were  pretty  thirsty.  Now  this  spring 
had  poisoned  water — they  called  it  'Bitter 
Spring.'  All  of  that  party — all  of  those  men 
who  had  left  the  original  outfit  here  in  the 
Funerals  curled  up  and  died  alongside  of  that 
spring,  including  the  men  that  had  buried  the 


90  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

treasure.  Just  three  out  of  the  lot  escaped, 
and  they  left  in  a  hurry — on  foot,  because  all 
the  animals  were  dead,  too. 

"Now,  here  is  the  point  of  the  story.  While 
those  three  men  were  climbing  up  the  Pana- 
mints,  trying  to  get  out,  they  came  across  an 
outcrop  of  silver  ore — native  silver — with  the 
values  sticking  out  in  wires  and  knobs.  In 
fact,  it  was  so  easy  to  knock  the  silver  out  of 
the  rock  that  they  pounded  some  out  and  made 
new  sights  for  their  rifles.  And  they  called 
it  the  'Gun  Sight  Mine,'  and  went  on.  A  long 
time  afterward  they  turned  up  at  the  old  Nfew- 
hall  Ranch  over  there  in  the  San  Fernando 
Valley,  and  were  saved.  When  they  told 
their  story,  they  started  a  search  for  the  Gun 
Sight  Mine  that's  been  going  on  for  more  than 
fifty  years!" 

"And  it  has  never  been  found?" 
"Not  yet,"  he  smiled.  "It's  probably  cov- 
ered up  with  'wash'  from  the  rains.  But  we 
have  hopes  because  the  rains  will  uncover  it 
some  day.  I  have  a  man  over  there  right 
now,  looking  around.  Perhaps  he'll  find  it 
and  send  me  word — perhaps  he  won't.  But 
if  he  did  send  me  word — "    He  paused  and 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  91 

Alva  saw  the  pleasant  lips  tighten  ever  so  lit- 
tle and  the  fine  eyes  contract. 

*'You  would  go  across — even  now?''  she 
ventured,  with  a  swift  look  at  the  yellow  sink 
below. 

''Even  now,"  he  answered.  "It  can  be  done. 
And  it  would  have  to  be  done,''  he  added,  a 
trifle  grimly.  "News  of  the  finding  of  the 
Gun  Sight  would  bring  a  hundred  men  there 
overnight.  I  would  go  by  the  causeway  over 
the  borax  marsh  at  Furnace  Creek  up  there  to 
the  north — then  south  by  Bennett's  Wells." 

"But  the  water  J"  she  cried,  almost  frantic- 
ally.    "Where  would  you  get  it?" 

"I  could  make  the  Wells  on  two  canteens," 
was  his  reply. 

He  stretched  himself  at  her  feet,  his  back 
against  the  ledge  of  rock,  his  felt  hat  in  his 
lap,  and  his  eyes,  thoughtful  and  steady,  fixed 
on  the  darkening  mountain  chain  from  among 
whose  snow-tipped  peaks  some  day  might  come 
a  message.  There  was  no  denying  the  cer- 
tainty with  which  he  estimated  his  ability,  but 
the  sense  was  equally  strong  that  he  was 
right — that  he  could  reach  the  Wells  on  two 
canteens. 


92  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

Alva  shifted  her  position  so  as  to  study  his 
face.  Whatever  grim  means  he  might  use  to 
accompHsh  his  purposes  the  man's  general 
aims  in  life  were  unquestionably  sane.  For 
the  first  time  since  she  had  known  him,  she 
began  to  understand  his  ambitions,  even 
though  it  was  quite  possible  that  they  had  for- 
ever ended  her  own.  She  saw,  for  one  thing, 
just  why  he  was  satisfied  to  stay  in  Magnet 
and  work  as  a  laborer.  Back  in  the  East,  men 
in  like  pursuits  stayed  in  the  rut  because  timid- 
ity or  misfortune  closed  their  eyes  to  their 
chances,  but  here  was  a  man  who,  while  he 
worked,  was  in  constant  activity,  keeping 
prospectors  in  the  field,  sending  his  earnings 
to  recently  discovered  camps,  continually  test- 
ing, digging,  exploring,  unceasingly  yet  si- 
lently pursuing  the  end  that  he  knew  he  would, 
in  time,  accomplish. 

And  so,  in  spite  of  the  gall-like  bitterness  of 
her  suspicions,  her  honesty  compelled  her  to 
acknowledge  his  grip  on  the  possibilities  con- 
tained in  himself  and  in  this  wide  Western 
world  in  which  he  lived.  He  had  begun  to 
typify  that  larger  life  that  she  was  coming  to 
know.  And  this  life,  which  had  seemed  at  first 
an  existence  devoted  merely  to  taking  reckless 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  93 

chances  was,  in  reality,  she  was  beginning  to 
see,  a  logical  and  never-ceasing  search  for  the 
success  that  could  be  found  somewhere  in  these 
hot  hills  because,  of  a  certainty,  it  lay  there 
waiting  to  be  found. 

Little  by  little  Alva's  mind  wandered  away 
from  her  main  purpose.  He  had  begun  to 
talk,  quietly  and  very  simply  and,  as  far  as 
she  could  detect,  without  a  trace  of  anything 
but  sober  honesty  in  his  tones.  Alva's  in- 
tended study  changed  into  silent  absorption. 

'Tt's  always  there — if  you'll  only  look  far 
enough  and  long  enough,"  he  said,  uncon- 
sciously following  her  thoughts.  'That's  the 
thing  that  has  kept  me  going.  The  way  to 
find  a  mine  is  to  look  for  it — and  the  way  to 
keep  it  good  after  you've  found  it  is  to  keep 
on  looking.     And  I  shall  be  always  looking. 

''But  I  have  been  at  it  quite  a  while,"  he 
added  thoughtfully,  and  smiled  up  at  her  as 
if  still  on  good  terms  with  chance.  "I  started 
mining  when  I  was  twelve  years  old,  nipping 
tools  over  in  Grass  Valley,  and  I've  been  pros- 
pecting and  mining  ever  since.  Naturally,  I 
haven't  been  able  to  bother  a  college  much 
during  that  time.  Would  that  spoil  a  man  for 
you?" 


94  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

"No,"  said  Alva  understandingly. 

He  nodded.  "I've  met  some  who  would 
figure  on  it  a  whole  lot,  but  not  you,  I  reckon. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  have  been  to  a  good 
many  schools  and  colleges  in  my  life,  but  they 
were  not  like  those  you'd  know  about. 
TheyVe  been  in  Nevada  and  in  California, 
and,  for  a  while,  one  was  in  Arizona.  You 
see — I  had  to  start  out  young.  I'm  only  thirty 
or  so  now,  but  I've  had  to  do  everything  on  a 
ranch  that  there  was  to  do  in  order  to  keep 
going,  and  nearly  everything  around  a  mine. 
My  father  and  my  brother  had  a  quick  ending 
down  in  Arizona,  and  I  was  left  with  some 
debts  to  pay." 

"You  mean — they  died  in  an  accident?" 

"Well — hardly  that,  ma'am.  It  was  Mexi- 
cans that  did  it.  You  see — we  were  always 
what  might  be  called  a  mining  family.  If 
there  was  a  rush  anywhere  near  by,  one  of  us 
would  always  go.  And  so,  little  by  little,  my 
brother  got  down  into  Arizona  and  found  a 
ledge  and  sent  for  my  father. 

"But  this  ledge  was  near  the  'line,'  and  the 
fellows  over  the  border  were  pretty  'bravo.' 
When  they  heard  we  had  a  good  claim,  they 
came  over,  and  tried  to  take  it  away  from  my 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  95 

father  and  my  brother.  It  was  then  that  they 
were  killed.  I  had  not  yet  come  down  from 
California.  But  when  I  heard  about  it,  I  lost 
no  time.  There  were  seven  Mexicans  that 
did  it.  I  was  just  turned  eighteen  when — 
when  the  matter  was  finally  settled.'' 

Alva's  lips  parted  suddenly,  but  she  finally 
let  her  question  go  unasked.  One  boy  with  a 
rifle  against  seven!  And  the  seven  had  '^set- 
tled"! 

"After  that  I  knocked  around  a  good  deal — 
punching  and  mining  and  milling — ^back  and 
forth  and  crosswise.  But,  somehow,  I  was 
always  trying  to  pick  up  something  as  I  went 
along,  because  I  knew  that  if  I  made  a  big 
stake,  rd  want  an  education  mighty  bad. 
And  so  I  studied  books  when  I  could,  and  I 
listened  to  people  who  knew,  and  now  I  have 
got  so  that  Fm  not  afraid  to  talk  with  most 
men.  That  is  to  say — I  have  sometimes  got  a 
little  information  on  something  that  they  don't 
know  about — when  they  happen  to  get  around 
to  it." 

He  paused  and  looked  up  at  her  with  an 
amused  smile.  "Do  you  see,  now,  how  the 
desert  makes  a  fellow  want  to  talk?  A 
woman  to  tell  your  story  to  out  here  is  bet- 


96  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

ter  than  a  dish  of  vanilla  ice  cream  down  there 
at  the  Wells  on  a  hot  day." 

''Where  did  you  go  from  Arizona?''  Alva 
asked. 

''Utah,  for  a  while — hunting  for  copper  up 
along  the  rim  of  the  basin/'  he  answered,  drop- 
ping his  eyes  again  to  the  shimmering  valley, 
whose  western  slopes  were  beginning  to  pur- 
ple. "Then  back  on  the  Mother  Lode,  blanket- 
sluicing  tailings  that  a  fellow  with  a  stamp 
mill  didn't  know  how  to  save.  That  gave  me 
a  good  stake  for  Thunder  Mountain — and 
British  Columbia — and  Nome.  Sometimes  I 
made  a  strike  and  sometimes  I  lost  it.  I'd 
work  until  I  had  something  saved  up,  and  then 
it  would  go  into  a  hole.  Generally  it  stayed 
there.  A  few  times,  perhaps,  I  could  have 
bought  a  ranch,  but,  you  see,  I  was  always  try- 
ing to  find  something  big.  I  can  always  earn 
a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  month  running 
hoist,  and  sometimes  two  or  three  times  that 
amount  on  shaft  and  tunnel  contracts,  but  I 
want  more  than  that — not  because  I  want  the 
money  so  much  as  because  I —  Well — prob- 
ably you  wouldn't  catch  my  point  of  view.  It 
would  seem  too  braggish." 

His  eyelids  rose  and  fell  over  a  quick  glance 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  97 

to  see  if  she  would  accept  his  modestly  stated 
hope.  'TVe  been  feeling  that  perhaps  I  had 
more  in  me  than  just  that  little  bit." 

The  conviction  had  come  to  Alva  some  time 
since  that  he  had  more  in  him  than  even  he 
himself  knew,  but  she  said  nothing  in  reply. 
Restraint  still  tied  her  tongue. 

''And  I  have  come  to  the  point,"  he  said, 
and  she  felt  his  eyes  warm  on  hers,  ''where  I 
can  see  the  difference  in  people — I  mean,  the 
way  you  see  it.  When  I  was  a  boy,  people 
were  pretty  much  all  alike,  only  some  were 
good  and  some  were  downright  bad.  Women 
were  different.  They  were  all  good — and  it 
took  quite  a  while  to  show  me  that  perhaps  I 
had  made  a  little  mistake  there.  And  then, 
too,  I  couldn't  notice  anything  about  Eastern 
folks — except  the  funny  way  they  talked  and 
their  clothes,  and  that  took  quite  a  while. 

"But  I'm  getting  to  know  where  I  stand, 
now.  And  Fm  feeling  better  because  I  can 
find  the  pay  streak  in  people  even  when  it's 
covered  up  pretty  deep  with  wash."  He 
opened  out  his  hand  in  the  familiar  gesture. 
"You  see — ^^Fm  glad  of  all  that,  because  some 
day  Fll  use  it  where  it  ought  to  be  used.  It 
won't  be  long  now  before  I  make  a  strike.     I'm 


98  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

getting  good  reports  'most  every  week.  Then, 
perhaps,  I'll  be  a  little  more  than  I  am  to-day." 

"And  then?''  asked  Alva,  because  she  could 
not  help  herself. 

*'And  then  I  shall  ask  a  certain  woman  if 
she  will  marry  me,"  he  answered  gravely. 
'Terhaps  even  before  then — if  she  under- 
stands that  I  mean  always  to  do  right,  and  will 
not  make  her  suffer  through  whisky.  But  she 
need  not  worry. 

"Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  man  falling  in  love 
with  a  picture?''  he  asked  abruptly,  with  a 
boldness  that  might  have  been  used  to  cover 
trepidation.  "Would  that  seem  like  a  boy's 
trick  to  you?  I  know  of  a  man  who  did  that 
once — a  man  a  good  deal  like  myself.  You 
see — it  happened  this  way:  Wherever  this 
fellow  went  around  through  the  country,  he 
would  always  look  around  him  at  the  women 
in  the  cities  or  towns  where  he  worked.  And 
the  longer  he  looked,  the  more  he  thought  that 
a  good  many  of  them  didn't  seem  to  be  acting 
quite  right  about  things.  He  didn't  know  just 
what  was  wrong — whether  it  was  the  way  they 
regarded  their  homes  or  their  husbands  or 
the  terrible  baby  difficulty,  only  it  seemed  as 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  99 

if  they  weren't  quite  holding  up  their  end  of 
the  game. 

"Now,  a  man  has  got  to  have  standards  or 
he  doesn't  amount  to  much.  If  he  hasn't  got 
a  good  old  mother  or  father  to  give  him  a  little 
family  pride  to  come  and  go  on,  he  has  to  man- 
ufacture something  to  take  its  place.  So  gen- 
erally he  makes  up  a  code  of  some  kind,  even 
if  it's  only  'no  drinks  before  breakfast,'  and 
he  sticks  to  that.  But  the  women  that  this 
fellow  met  didn't  seem  to  have  any  codes  or 
standards  or  any  foolish  things  like  that. 
They  were  like  a  lot  of  pretty,  sassy  kids  whose 
husbands  were  only  made  to  walk  on.  It  was 
just  whatever  they  could  get  away  with  that 
they  did. 

*'And  so  this  fellow  got  pretty  disgusted. 
He  said,  'I  have  got  my  ideas  about  this  thing, 
and  if  there  isn't  any  woman  around  that's  a 
great  deal  better  than  /  am,  I'll  go  to  work 
and  manufacture  a  woman  in  my  mind  that 
will  do  for  me  until  I  find  one.'  And  so  he 
fixed  one  up  from  a  picture  he  once  saw,  with 
dark  eyes — like  yours,  I  reckon — and  dark 
hair,  too.  And  he  gave  her  a  fine,  strong 
body  and  a  mind  without  any — er — crooked 


lOO  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

streaks  in  it.  And  he  made  her  loyal  and 
brave — *' 

Alva  smiled.  Honesty  was  making  the  old, 
old  dream  both  fresh  and  poignant. 

''Doesn't  nearly  every  man  do  just  that? 
Isn't  she  what  you  call  your  'ideal  woman'?" 

"Perhaps,"  he  conceded,  so  thoughtfully 
that  she  saw  he  had  never  been  conscious  of  it 
before.  "But  this  fellow  went  a  little  far- 
ther than  that.  He  made  her  better  than 
himself.  He  made  her  think  big,  noble 
things.  He  didn't  want  her  sticking  around 
down  where  he  was.  He  wanted  her  always 
just  a  little  ahead  of  him,  so  that  he  could 
keep  on  working.  Would  you  have  any  other 
kind?" 

"N-no,"  said  Alva,  startled.  "But  he  was 
a  very  unusual  sort  of  man  to  want  her  to  be 
better  than  himself."  She  wondered  if  he 
thought  he  was  deceiving  her.  "Most  men 
want  merely  a  partner." 

In  spite  of  all  she  could  do,  a  curious  ques- 
tion flashed  through  her  mind:  What  had 
Donald  wanted  her  to  be?  Her  thoughts 
raced  back  over  the  years  in  an  attempt  to 
recollect  some  hunger  for  inspiration  that 
would  match  this  one  found  to-day. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST,  loi 

''It  seems  to  me/'  she  said  thoughtfully, 
''that  it  would  be  very  hard  to  find  a  woman 
for  a  man  who  wanted  to  be  inspired." 

''But  this  man  found  her,"  he  objected 
gently ;  whereat  his  theory  seemed  less  whimsi- 
cal. "And  she  was  all  the  things  he  had 
figured  on.  Only — after  he'd  found  her,  he 
became  afraid  that  he  wasn't  good  enough 
for  her,  and  that  made  him  feel  pretty  bad. 
In  fact,  he  used  to  talk  to  me  about  that  side 
of  it." 

Alva  shot  a  quick  glance  at  him.  Was  he 
talking  about  some  other  man,  after  all? 
Forthwith,  she  began  to  formulate  traps  for 
him,  but  gave  it  up  after  a  few  futile  attempts. 
His  easy  flow  of  ideas  confused  her,  and  made 
her  own  mental  processes  seem  slow  and 
stupid.  For  some  curious  reason,  which  ought 
to  have  been  irritating,  she  could  not  grasp 
the  trend  of  his  thoughts,  and  so  was  forced 
to  follow  obediently  wherever  he  led,  losing 
more  of  her  independence  with  every  word. 
And  in  this  strange  condition  of  mind,  which 
was  more  pleasant  than  she  would  ever  have 
suspected,  she  unknowingly  took  another  step. 

He  was  lying  back  against  the  rock  on  which 
she  sat,  his  eyes  sometimes  on  hers,  but  more 


I02  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

often  lazily  surveying  the  valley  through  half- 
closed  lids.  While  his  eyes  were  cast  down, 
her  own  inventoried  him.  Again  her  rest- 
less imagination  made  him  a  type,  but  this  time 
it  was  with  a  more  generous  award  of  keen- 
ness and  breadth  of  vision  than  before.  As 
she  followed  the  simply  told  stories  of  his 
young  manhood  as  they  came  uncynically,  but 
with  accurate  weighing,  from  his  lips,  she 
found  other  stories  infinitely  more  interesting 
in  the  sensitive,  aquiline  nose  and  cleft  chin. 
He  spoke  of  many  rough  affairs  in  which  he 
had  been  involved,  but  he  did  not  boast  of  the 
clean  living  that  she  saw  in  the  clear  eyes  and 
skin.  Neither  did  he  say  he  was  self-respect- 
ing, although  she  read  it  as  well  in  his  well- 
kept  mustache  as  in  his  manner  of  thought. 

So  close  was  she  to  him  there  in  the  solitude, 
where  not  even  the  hum  of  a  fly  broke  the  si- 
lence, that  a  new  thrall  laid  hold  of  her,  and 
this  time  it  was  the  sense  of  his  physical  at- 
tractiveness. Without  being  conscious  of  it, 
what  little  of  masculinity  she  had  built  up  in 
herself  during  the  past  months  faded  quickly 
away  before  the  complete  virility  that  lay  at 
ease  an  arm's  length  away.  For  the  first  time 
in  years,  Alva  Leigh  became  gladly  feminine 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  103 

again,  secretly  admiring  his  length  and 
straightness  of  Hmb — speculating  idly  on  the 
strength  that  must  lie  in  those  big  brown 
hands — wondering  why  he  parted  his  hair  on 
the  side  where  it  was  thinnest — eagerly  wait- 
ing for  his  lips  to  part  so  that  she  might  see 
his  white,  even  teeth — and,  most  inexplicable 
of  all,  smiling,  unconsciously,  when  he  smiled. 
But  it  was  only  a  moment  before,  horrified, 
she  realized  what  had  happened  and  angrily 
broke  off  the  insidious  train  of  thought.  A 
fierce  pang  shot  through  her  when  she  saw 
how  little  she  had  accomplished.  And  yet,  as 
she  dared  another  look  and  let  the  honesty  of 
his  words  obtain  its  due,  the  conviction,  warm 
and  fragrant,  stole  into  her  welcoming  heart 
that  she  was  attempting  an  unwarranted  task. 
If  there  were  such  a  thing  as  truthfulness  in 
this  world,  it  was  surely  shining  on  her  now 
out  of  this  strong  man's  eyes.  If  clean-heart- 
edness  could  sound  in  a  voice,  it  was  to  be 
heard  in  every  deep,  steady  tone  of  this  man 
beside  her.  Once  more  the  memory  of  his 
words  beside  Donald's  grave  ebbed  into  the  tu- 
mult of  her  emotions,  and  she  forgot  the  after- 
noon's grim  purpose.  With  a  warm  rush  of 
gratitude  in  which  there  were  some  danger- 


I04  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

ous,  sweet  throbbing  things  yet  undefined,  she 
began  to  prepare  the  way  for  her  confession. 
But  before  she  could  speak,  he  was  talking 
again,  and  her  chance,  for  a  time,  was  gone. 

^'Someone  to  talk  to  is  a  godsend  out  here 
on  the  desert,''  he  was  saying,  with  a  slow 
smile,  "and  I  never  blamed  this  fellow  for  run- 
ning on  so  about  his  womany  ideas.  In  fact, 
if  a  man  hasn't  a  little  company  out  here,  he 
gets  in  a  bad  way. 

"Did  you  ever  hear  of  the  'desert  loco'? 
Probably  it's  fairly  scarce  in  New  York  City, 
although  I've  not  been  there  to  see.  But  out 
here  it's  a  troublesome  thing.  Whisky  brings 
it  mainly,  but  sometimes  it  comes  to  men  from 
having  no  one  to  talk  to,  and  nothing  to  look 
at  except  the  desert,  and  nothing  to  think  about 
except  the  things  they  didn't  do.  And  so  they 
talk  to  themselves,  which  is  bad  for  them,  and 
they  go  to  remembering  nicer  places  where 
they  once  lived,  and  that  makes  it  worse. 
And  after  a  while  they  grow  quiet  and  queer 
and  begin  to  hate  things,  themselves  first  of 
all.  Only" — and  he  looked  up  with  a  laugh 
that  showed  his  understanding  of  the  subject's 
strange  psychology — "you'd  never  know  it." 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  105 

"You  mean — they  conceal  it?''  asked  Alva, 
puzzled. 

''Just  that,"  he  said,  with  the  enthusiasm 
that  always  preceded  a  quick  flow  of  words. 
*'And  yet  I  don't  reckon  that  we  desert  folks 
are  much  different  from  city  people,  after  all. 
The  loco  man  only  lives  a  little  more  inside 
himself  than  you  and  I.  We  all  have  our  own 
little  worlds  right  in  our  own  heads,  and  the 
funny  part  of  it  is  that  every  man's  world  is 
different  from  the  next  fellow's.  Of  course, 
we  think  the  world  we  see  is  the  same  that 
everyone  else  sees — and  yet  our  thoughts  make 
it  a  different  world  for  everyone  of  us.  Did 
you  ever  wonder,  for  instance,  how  it  would 
be  to  look  at  things  with  another  person's  mind. 
My  hat,  here,  looks  gray  to  me — but  it  may  be 
white  to  you." 

"Tt  is  white,"  said  Alva  positively,  then 
laughed. 

"No,"  he  grinned  happily.  "Not  while  it's 
my  hat.  But  you  see  what  I  mean.  People 
get  notions,  sometimes  about  articles  like  this 
hat — more  often  about  other  people — princi- 
pally about  injuries  that  they  think  another 
person  has  done  them.     And  they  feed  on  their 


io6  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

notion  and  twist  it  around  in  their  minds  and 
chew  on  it  till  it  gets  in  pretty  bad  shape. 
Finally,  they  really  go  loco  about  that  one 
thing — ^but" — and  he  smiled  again — "you 
would  never  know  it.  They  go  about  their 
daily  work  just  the  same.  They  seem  just  the 
same.  They  are  just  the  same,  except  for  that 
one  little  kink  in  their  minds,  which  they're 
smart  enough  to  hide  from  you — sometimes. 

*Take  Danny  the  Bum,  for  instance.  Once 
Danny  had  a  wife  and  family,  but  the  whisky 
beat  him.  So  he  cleared  out  and  went  pros- 
pecting on  the  desert.  A  few  years  of  that 
and  Danny  began  to  have  notions.  Because 
he  let  them  grow  on  him,  they  changed  his 
mind.  You  might  say  they  ate  it  up. 
Now,  I  can't  look  inside  of  Danny's  head  to- 
day, but  I'll  cheerfully  bet  my  share  of  the 
Gun  Sight  Mine  that  it's  just  the  queerest, 
crookedest  place  you'd  ever  see — with  a  lot  of 
little  black  hates,  that  never  get  anywhere,  run- 
ning around  like  mad  inside  and  killing  off 
everything  decent  that  tries  to  grow. 

'*And  so  we  have  to  keep  our  heads  as  level 
as  we  can,  out  here,"  he  said  soberly.  'T  get 
notions  myself  sometimes,  but  I  get  rid  of  them 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  107 

by  talking  to  other  people  about  them.  Don't 
you?" 

''Y-e-e-e-s/'  she  answered  slowly — and  then, 
with  a  deep  breath,  put  her  suspicions  away, 
she  hoped,  forever.  ^'Indeed  I  do.  And  I 
must  tell  you  something  right  away — " 

"Oh,  let  me  say  my  piece  first,'*  he  inter- 
rupted boyishly.  "About  this — this —  Well, 
now — how  can  I  say  it?  These  foolish  love 
ideas  that  a  man  will  have — do  you  reckon 
that  they  could  ever  be  loco  ideas,  too?" 

"They,  too,"  she  answered  solemnly,  though 
her  face  twitched.  "In  fact,  they  can  spring 
up  from  nothing  at  all  and  subsist  on  less  real 
fact  than  anything  else  in  the  whole  wide 
world." 

"Golly !"  he  muttered,  seeming  to  concede  her 
superior  knowledge  on  the  point.  "That's 
surely  mean  for  himf* 

"But  you've  already  said  that  your  friend 
built  up  his  fancy  merely  on  a  picture,"  she  ob- 
jected pointedly.  "You  couldn't  ask  for  a  bet- 
ter sample  of  the  loco  than  that." 

"But  he  isn't  loco''  he  stated  calmly.  "He's 
going  to  get  her." 

"He  only  thinks  so,"  she  retorted.     "That's 


io8  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

his  notion.     There  may  be  obstacles  that  are 
simply  insuperable." 

''He  would  make  them  disappear/'  was  the 
answer.  ''Don't  forget  that  they  would  seem 
insuperable  only  to  her.  Don't  you  suppose 
that  if  he  could  show  her — " 

But  Alva  had  risen  to  her  feet  and  was 
looking  at  the  watch  at  her  belt  with  an  ex- 
clamation of  surprise.  Their  hour — and  his — 
had  flown. 

And  so,  presently,  they  were  walking  back 
to  Magnet  in  the  early  evening,  the  man  amaz- 
ingly happy  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  something 
had  been  left  unsaid — the  woman  with  her 
mind  swept  clean  of  one  ill,  but  wordless  with 
the  strange  pangs  of  another.  For  each  step 
that  took  them  farther  away  from  the  Valley 
brought  Alva  farther  away  from  that  other 
dread  vale  into  whose  shadows  she  had  been 
descending  until  a  saner  force  had  caught  her 
up,  and  she  softened  to  her  companion  swiftly, 
her  sensitive  lips  quivering  with  the  confession 
still  unspoken,  her  hand  more  friendly  when, 
swinging,  it  happened  to  touch  his  own.  Some 
curious  power  in  him  seemed  bringing  out  all 
that  was  truly  woman  in  her,  and  although  she 
tried  to  fight  oflf  its  ascendency,  yet  something 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  109 

was  always  staying  her  hand,  whispering  that 
to-day  she  had  entered  on  a  new  Hfe  through 
her  Samaritan's  guidance,  a  Hfe  that  was  both 
sweeter  and  infinitely  more  complete.  Once 
she  feared,  momentarily,  that  she  might  have 
been  the  subject  of  his  mild  dissertation  on 
"notions,"  but  finally  saw  that  it  was,  of  course, 
impossible  and  so  took  heart  again. 

'Tt's  always  daytime  longest  in  the  East," 
he  said,  as  they  paused  on  the  last  hummock 
that  sloped  down  to  the  town,  and  he  pointed 
to  the  glowing  hills.  "Night  comes  first  where 
the  sun  goes  down,  and  you  think  the  day  is 
gone.  But  look  back  the  other  way  and  you'll 
see  them  saving  up  a  little  sunlight  for  you 
right  at  the  end — to  go  on  until  to-morrow. 
It's  that  way  with  'most  everything,  I  guess. 
But,  I  will  be  leaving  you,  about  here.  The 
only  thing  we  forgot  to-day  was  the  thing  we 
set  out  to  do — to  locate  a  claim  for  you.  But 
if  that's  all  that  you'll  blame  me  for,  I  can 
figure  on  getting  my  usual  sleep.  Some  day" 
— and  her  newly  timid  eyes  could  not  combat 
his  boldness — "some  day  we'll  make  you  a  real 
owner.  You  have  a  claim  already  that  you 
don't  know  about." 

As  Alva  walked  on  alone  through  the  out- 


no  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

skirts  toward  her  establishment,  she  could  not 
resist  a  backward  glance.  Although,  as  he 
had  said,  they  had  left  undone  the  thing  they 
had  set  out  to  do,  yet  she  knew  that  something 
infinitely  more  important  had  been  accom- 
plished, for  she  had  been  left  with  so  complete 
a  sense  of  trust  as  to  be  almost  happy.  In 
this  clear-thinking  frame  of  mind,  it  would 
have  been  futile  to  deny  that  the  man  loved 
her,  for  both  words  and  actions  had  made  it 
perfectly  plain.  And,  when  she  came  to  think 
of  it,  there  seemed  no  good  reason  why  she 
should  thrust  back  anything  so  human  or 
so  wonderfully  sweet.  Even  Donald,  she 
thought  with  a  sudden  throb,  would  not  ob- 
ject to  her  using  so  genuine  a  love  to  aid  her 
ends.  And  so  she  did  not  stop  at  the  little 
cemetery  as  she  passed.  She  would  ask  no 
more  questions  of  her  grave.  She  had  gained 
a  stronger,  saner  aid  to-day  than  any  morbid 
deductions  could  secure.  She  had  located  a 
claim,  and  she  would  develop  it. 

She  smiled  to  herself,  wondering  if  he  knew 
on  how  many  points  he  had  touched  her. 
Also,  she  wondered  again  as  to  his  quiet  talk 
on  "notions,"  until  a  remembrance  of  the 
phrase  "without  any  crooked  streaks  in  it" 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  iii 

came  to  mind.  Could  he  have  been  thinking 
of  her,  after  all?  Was  he  thinking  of  her 
nowf  She  looked  back  again  and  was  con- 
fessedly disappointed.  She  saw  from  the  way 
in  which  he  strode  steadily  through  the  brush 
that  he  had  put  his  mind  to  work  on  something 
else.  Still  looking,  however,  she  saw  him  en- 
ter the  main  street  of  the  town  near  its  head, 
where  a  group  of  men  were  waiting  for  him. 
Alva  thought  their  attitudes  showed  that  a 
question  was  being  put  to  him  for  decision. 
Presently  the  unknown  matter  seemed  to  be 
settled,  for  he  was  the  first  to  move  on,  taking 
one  of  the  group  with  him.  When  their  steps 
took  them  in  the  direction  of  the  Miners'  Hall, 
Alva  felt  that  something  must  have  happened 
in  Magnet  that  called  for  action. 

A  faint  thrill  went  through  her  as  she  saw 
the  camp's  crude  legal  machinery  being  set  in 
motion.  Someone  had  made  a  complaint. 
Someone  had  said,  "Such  and  such  a  man  has 
done  wrong,"  and  had  produced  his  proofs. 
Whereupon,  a  small  body  of  men,  self-ap- 
pointed, came  together,  patiently  reviewed  the 
evidence,  deliberated  in  their  quiet  way,  and 
then  acquitted  or  dealt  out  punishment  with  a 
finality  that  brooked  no  appeal. 


112  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

Yet,  in  spite  of  her  appreciation  of  its  gen- 
uineness, Alva  felt  far  from  sure  that  the  ma- 
chinery would  always  work  so  smoothly.  Al- 
though the  Vigilance  Committee  would  act 
quickly  enough  on  a  recent  and  flagrant  crime, 
yet  this  looser  form  of  government  naturally 
called  for  very  certain  proofs,  and  if  the  evi- 
dence did  not  convince  at  once,  the  case  would 
probably  be  shrugged  away.  And  so,  for  all 
the  new  faith  with  which  the  past  hour  had 
inspired  her,  she  began  to  feel  almost  as  im- 
potent to  secure  full  justice  when  the  time  ar- 
rived as  on  her  first  day;  a  saddened  mood 
that  held  her  until  she  reached  the  door  of  her 
tent.  There  she  was  again  reminded  of  yes- 
terday's hysterical  decisions,  for  on  her  door- 
step sat  the  forlorn  figure  of  Danny  the  Bum, 
squinting  up  at  an  imaginary  adversary  with 
whom  he  was  carrying  on  a  mumbled  conversa- 
tion. 

Never  a  tall  man,  various  causes  had  short- 
ened and  bowed  the  unfortunate  Danny  until, 
in  his  huddled  attitude,  he  looked  almost  like 
a  dwarf.  His  torn,  misshapen  khaki  clothes, 
with  their  pristine  brown  blackened  by  the  con- 
stant rubbing  of  food-greasy  hands,  hung  on 
his  spare  frame  as  limply  as  a  towel  on  a  post. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  113 

Circling  his  red,  leathery  forehead,  he  wore 
the  rim  of  a  battered  derby  hat  through  whose 
crown  his  uncut  gray  thatch  thrust  up  Hke  a 
clump  of  withered  bunch  grass.  On  his  right 
foot  he  wore  a  clumsy  brogan — on  his  left,  the 
top  of  an  Oxford  tie. 

''Danny,"  said  Alva  pityingly,  "I  want  you 
to  work  for  me  for  a  few  days.  Perhaps,  if 
you  keep  sober,  you  can  earn  enough  to  buy  a 
pair  of  shoes." 

The  man  squinted  up  at  her  cautiously,  then 
shook  his  head  in  utter  dejection. 

''Shoes,"  he  said  hopelessly,  ''shoes  is  four 
dollars!" 

"But  that's  only  four  days'  work,"  Alva  re- 
monstrated wonderingly.  "Surely  you  can 
keep  sober  that  long.  Don't  be  afraid,  Danny. 
Stay  in  the  kitchen  when  you're  not  working. 
I  won't  let  them  get  you." 

'Will  you?"  the  man  quavered,  while  his 
blurred  visage  lighted  up  with  hope.  "Kin  I 
sleep  there,  too?  Night's  the  hard  time  fer 
me.  But,  say!"  he  cried  excitedly.  "If  there 
really  wu:^  shoes  in  it,  I  c'u'd  lock  myself  in, 
now  couldn't  I? 

"But,  no,"  he  went  on,  and  plucked  thought- 
fully at  the  hair  protruding  through  his  hat. 


114  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

"I  reckon,  after  all,  it  wouldn't  be  just  right 
to  confine  a  big  business  man  like  me  at  night 
when  things  are  going  on.  I — I — I  got  to 
'tend  to  my  affairs,  you  see.  I — I  got  business 
to  transact.'^ 

"A  claim,  of  course,"  smiled  Alva,  while  she 
puzzled  over  ways  to  straighten  him  out. 

'That's  wot,"  said  Danny  keenly.  ''You 
know  how  it  is.     You've  got  one,  too  ?" 

"Perhaps — perhaps  I  have,  Danny,"  the 
woman  answered.     "I  don't  really  know." 

"Like  me,"  said  Danny  promptly.  "A 
felluh  took  mine  away  from  me  once,  but  I 
can't  think  who  it  was.  Or  where  the  claim 
lay.  I'm  sure  it  wasn't  old  Peter  Silk,  becuz 
he  took  Mexican  Frank's  just  as  soon  as  he 
heard  the  reward  was  out,  and  it  wasn't  Dick 
Randall,  becuz  he  got  Jaffray's — " 

" Danny!*'  the  woman  cried  suddenly,  with  a 
note  of  horror  in  her  voice.  "How  did  Ran- 
dall get  the  Jaffray  claim?" 

Unprepared  for  the  sudden  attack,  the  man 
shrank* back  as  if  he  had  been  struck.  His 
face  grew  even  more  vacuous  than  before.  He 
seemed  paralyzed  with  fright. 

''Danny  r  commanded  the  woman  savagely. 
"Tell  me  what  I  want  to  know,  or  I'll  have  you 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  iiS 

put  in  jail."  Gripping  him  convulsively  by  the 
arms,  she  shook  the  impotent  shell  of  a  man 
to  and  fro  till  his  teeth  rattled.  "Tell  me  in- 
stantly how  he  got  that  claim !'' 

'T — I — I — I  ain't  sayin'  how  he  got  it," 
chattered  Danny.  **He  took  it,  that's  all  I 
know.  And  you  won't  put  me  in  jail  nuther — 
'cuz  there  ain't  any  jail.  Young  Jaffray — 
he's  dead,  you  know — deader  than  a  doornail 
— nice,  young  felluh,  wot  won't  ever  come 
back.  He  wouldn't  do  nuthin'  to  Randall,  no 
he  wouldn't — and  Randall,  he  can't  do  nuthin' 
to  him/'  Danny's  voice  rose  to  a  quavering 
falsetto,  and  he  looked  wildly  about,  like  a 
trapped  animal  trying  to  escape.  "But  he 
didn't  fuss  with  him  much.  He  had  rights, 
you  see — not  like  a  stick-up  man  that  needs 
money  like  he  did  last  night.  He  hit  me  in 
the  eye,  he  did — down  there  at  Tiger  Lil's." 

Alva's  grip  relaxed  and  her  hands  fell  limply 
at  her  sides.  Incoherent  as  was  the  jumble 
of  words,  the  accursed  suspicion  instantly 
leaped  into  life  again  and  built  up  another 
swiftly  linking  chain  of  proof.  At  other 
times,  her  saner  judgment  would  have  con- 
temptuously rejected  the  worthless  mixture  of 
hearsay  and  falsity,  but  to-day,  in  spite  of  all 


ii6  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

her  good  spirits  of  a  moment  ago,  Alva  sud- 
denly became  irresponsible.  The  virulent 
sickness  that  had  been  growing  in  her  for  so 
long  needed  only  a  shock  like  this  to  drain  her 
vitality  away  like  blood  drawn  off  into  a  basin. 
Unhearing  and  colorless,  nauseated  by  the  re- 
turn of  the  old  conviction,  she  swayed  dizzily 
to  and  fro. 

No  sooner  did  Danny  feel  himself  free  than 
his  small  stock  of  courage  returned  and  his 
features  brightened.  He  did  not  know  why 
the  woman's  voice  had  failed  her  or  why  her 
face  had  grown  ashen,  but  at  the  first  faint 
symptoms  of  distress,  he  felt  impelled  to  offer 
all  the  valuable  information  at  his  command. 

"Oh,  don't  you  worry  about  what  I'm  tellin' 
you,"  Danny  expostulated.  "It's  all  true. 
He's  a  bad  man.  I've  got  him  all  writ  down 
in  my  little  book — all  I  see  him  do,  so's  I  kin 
read  it  to  myself  every  night."  Fumbling  in 
his  tattered  vest,  he  whipped  out  a  battered, 
coverless  notebook,  and  waved  it  before  her 
unseeing  eyes.  "Oh,  he's  a  regguler  business 
man,  Danny  is.  Everything  he  sees  and  hears 
he  writes  down  and  keeps.  All  kinds  of 
things/'  he  whispered  mysteriously  in  her  ear. 
"Skin    games    he    sees — and    murders — and 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  117 

places  he  got  hand-outs — and  ways  to  find  lost 
mines  at  night — and  lots  more  things  that'll 
make  him  a  rich  man  some  day. 

*'Last  night,  it  was,  I  see  him  a-talkin'  to 
you — and  I  writes  it  down.  And  I  followed 
him  when  he  went  away — and  Til  get  him  yet. 
You  don't  know  where  he  went,  but  the  hook 
knows!  'Tiger  LiFs' — that's  where  he  went. 
Oh,  hoh !  So  you  didn't  know  he  was  a  friend 
of  hers!"  Danny  exclaimed  delightedly,  as 
Alva  shrank  back  in  disgust.  *'You  bet  he's 
her  friend!  Everybody  knows  it.  Your  old 
Sarah  knows  it,  too. 

"But  say!  He  hit  me  in  the  eye.  He 
shouldn't  have  did  that — it  hurt.  And  so  I 
followed  him — all  night  I  followed  him — and 
when  I  came  back,  I  writes  it  in  me  little  book. 
And  that's  what  makes  me  a  valible  man  in 
this  yere  community,"  he  continued  proudly. 
'That's  why  they  got  to  pay  attention  when 
I  talk.  I  got  information  on  important  points, 
you  see.  And  some  day  these  yere  big  men 
around  yere — they'll  get  into  their  ottomobiles 
and  come  to  my  office  and  say: 

"  'Danny,'  they'll  say,  'you  know  and  we 
know  that  things  ha'  gotta  be  regulated  in  this 
yere  camp,  and  we  hear  that  you've  got  a  lot 


ii8  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

of  big  ideas  in  your  little  book.  Now  we're 
willing  to  make  a  great  big  offer  just  to  take 
one  little  peek  inside.  We  hereby  offer  you  as 
much  as  ten  thousand — why,  pshaw,  no — 
money  ain't  nuthin'  to  us,  or  to  you,  nuther — 
we  offer  you  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  in 
good  hard  cash  just  for  that  one  little  valible 
book.' 

"And  then  I  looks  'em  over,  and  while  I'm 
pretending  to  admire  their  ottomobiles  and 
their  silk  hats  and  their  big,  thick  watch  chains, 
I  see  'em  a-winkin'  at  each  other.  And  wot 
do  I  know  then?  I  knows  they're  figurin'  to 
get  my  book  too  cheap! 

"And  so  I  gets  werry,  werry  ca'm — and  I 
leans  back  in  my  revolvin'  chair — wot  goes 
round  and  round  when  you  touch  it  just  with 
your  little  finger — and  I  puts  my  feet  on  my 
big  desk,  and  I  says  to  'em :  'Gentlemen,'  says 
I,  with  a  yawn  and  a  stretch,  Tm  sorry  to  say 
that  my  brekfuss  ain't  settin'  just  ezackly  right 
this  morning,  and  I  ain't  overanxious  to  do 
business.  You  make  that  offer  of  yours  a 
bonded  lease  f  er  ten  times  that  little  bunch  of 
money,  and  mebbe  I'll  take  time  to  consider  it. 
Good  day,  gentlemen — good  day !'  " 


CHAPTER  VII 

ALTHOUGH  Alva  woke  long  before 
dawn,  a  splitting  headache  held  her 
inert  among  her  tumbled  coverings,  staring  up 
the  ridgepole  of  her  tent  as  she  thought  she 
had  stared  up  into  the  darkness  all  night  long. 
Not  until  the  long,  hot  fingers  of  the  midsum- 
mer sun  lanced  through  the  flap  of  her  tent 
and  she  heard  old  Sarah  pottering  around  the 
stove,  could  she  rouse  herself  to  take  up  an- 
other day's  false  duties.  Heavy,  dull-eyed, 
and  listless,  she  went  about  the  dreary  busi- 
ness of  dressing  with  never  a  look  into  the 
mirror  that  would  have  given  her  some  much- 
needed  advice,  and  finally  joined  the  old 
woman  in  the  kitchen,  her  hair  wound  loosely 
about  her  head  and  her  face  congested  with 
the  night's  impotent  thinking. 

"Well,  this  is  the  day  you're  popular!"  re- 
marked the  hardy  frontiers-woman  cheerily, 
as  she  stuffed  greasewood  into  the  stove. 
"The  Town-site  Company's  big  dance  comes 

off  to-night.     They'll  all  be  honeyin'  around 

119 


I20  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

here  soon.  I  wisht  I  wuz  young  and  beauti- 
ful again.     Td  like  to  whirl  a  few  meself.'' 

''Dance?"  echoed  Alva,  with  a  mirthless 
laugh.  *'Why  should  anyone  want  to  dance 
heref 

"You'll  see  why  soon  enough  when  the 
young  felluhs  begin  snoopin'  round,"  was 
Sarah's  sage  retort.  "You  can't  keep  young 
blood  still,  even  in  the  Funerals.  I  guess 
you'll  go,  fast  enough.  I  never  see  a  pretty 
girl  yet  that  wasn't  crazy  to  be  pestered  to 
death  over  a  dance,  and  you  needn't  think 
you'll  get  by,  missy !" 

"That's  what  /  say,"  agreed  a  breezy  voice 
in  the  doorway,  as  Mrs.  Baker's  bulky  figure 
announced  her  morning  call.  "You  and  me 
and  Andy's  wife  and  that  freckled-faced 
misery  from  Bindelmann's  books  ain't  very 
many  to  entertain  three  hundred  men,  but  we 
ought  to  try  it  if  only  for  society's  sake. 
Baker  says  the  Committee  scraped  the  desert 
clean  as  far  south  as  the  Borax  Works,  and 
only  bagged  a  squaw.  But  the  new  stage 
driver  claims  that  Ash  Meadows  is  sending  the 
spring  tender's  sister  if  she  can  only  find  a 
somewheres-new  flour  sack  for  an  evening 
waist,  and  Amargosa's  good  for  a  half  dozen 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  121 

Mormon  calamities  'most  always,  so  I  guess 
we  can  keep  them  hopping.  For  the  land's 
sake,  Alva!  What  is  the  matter  with  your 
eyes?     Don't  say  you  won't  goT 

"I  hadn't  thought  of  it,"  was  the  listless  re- 
ply.    "I  don't  see  why  I  should." 

"I  don't  see  why  you  shouldn't,''  retorted  the 
keen-eyed  Mrs.  Baker  promptly.  "See  here, 
now.  Don't  you  get  queer  and  catch  this 
'desert  loco.'  I  know  you're  always  wearing 
black,  but  I  always  figure  that  we  owe  a  heap 
more  to  the  living  than —  Why,  you  don't 
want  people  to  go  to  thinking  that  you're 
snobby  and  stuck-up,  do  you?  You  can't! 
You're  a  business  woman!" 

The  older  woman  surveyed  the  other's  slip- 
shod attire  for  a  moment  with  a  searching  eye, 
and  then  let  her  voice  soften  with  sympathy. 
'Tf  there's  anybody  around  here  that  ain't 
treating  you  just  exactly  right  and  making 
you  feel  unhappy,  you  just  let  me  know,"  she 
said.  **But,  pshaw!  What's  the  use  of  talk- 
ing about  it!  Of  course  you'll  go — with 
Blewitt,  too — or  I  miss  my  guess.  He's  had 
the  camp's  only  full-dress  suit,  including  pants, 
airing  on  a  bush  for  nearly  a  week." 

"Don't  put  too  much  of  your  money  on 


122  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

Blewitt,  Mis'  Baker/'  remarked  Sarah,  while 
the  two  worthies  exchanged  knowing  glances. 
'1  guess  I  know  who's  got  Miss  Pretty  picked 
out  long  ago." 

*'Sarah,"  commanded  Alva  curtly,  "go  see 
if  the  tables  are  ready.  We've  pottered  along 
this  morning  till  we're  very  late."  Then  she 
turned  to  Mrs.  Baker. 

*'Yes.  I'll  go  to  the  dance  to-night,"  she 
said,  with  a  hot  face  and  glittering  eyes. 
'*But  it  won't  be  with  the  man  you're  thinking 
of.  No,  I  won't  tell  you  my  reasons,"  as  the 
other  showed  her  surprise.  ^'You'll  know  why 
some  day.     All  of  you  will  know  it." 

'Why!  I  didn't  know  he  was  married T 
quavered  her  friend.  ''Don't  tell  me  he's  been 
deceiving  you,  Alva !" 

Alva  gave  the  other  a  look  of  mingled  ex- 
asperation and  wonder. 

"Is  that  the  only  reason  you  can  think  of, 
Amelia  ?  Can't  a  man  do  anything  else  that's 
wrong?" 

"Not — ^not — not  so's  you  wouldn't  go  with 
him  to  a  dance!"  stammered  Mrs.  Baker. 
"Why — I  went  once  with  a  horse  thief,  down 
to  Hackberry!  He  told  me  they  were  after 
him,  all  right,  before  we  went,  but  he  figured 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  123 

he  could  go  to  the  dance  and  get  away  again 
before  they  began  to  bother  him. 

"  Tm  the  Hckingest  best  waltzer  in  any  five 
counties  north  of  the  Coloraydo,  AmeHa/  says 
he,  'and  I  kin  prove  it,  too — if  they'll  only  give 
me  a  show  for  my  white  alley.' 

"But  they  were  that  sore  at  him  they 
only  gave  us  time  for  the  grand  march  and  a 
stingy  little  polka  before  they  spoke  to  him, 
and  the  poor  fellow  never  had  his  chance. 
You  see,  Alva — dances  are  different.  People 
have  got  to  be  on  their  good  behavior  at  them. 
Killings  and  foolishness  don't  go.  Well — 
think  it  over  before  you  go  to  giving  up  your 
friends.  Men  ain't  as  bad  as  they  seem. 
They've  just  got  to  be  doing  things  all  the 
time,  I  guess.  Here!  Take  this.  It's  a  let- 
ter I  brought  down  from  the  post  office  for 
you.  I  guess  the  man  who  addressed  it  didn't 
like  to  give  himself  away." 

With  breakfast  over,  Alva  soon  found  proof 
of  Sarah's  shrewdness  in  the  shamelessly  loi- 
tering tactics  of  several  sheep-eyed  young 
miners  around  the  front  door,  and  so  made  a 
quick  retreat  to  the  kitchen  before  she  could 
be  approached.  Here  she  leaned  heavily 
against  the  rear  doorway,  with  her  forehead 


124  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

pressed  against  her  arm,  and  stared  out  at  the 
fierce,  hot  morning. 

The  softer  lights  of  spring  had  given  way 
long  since  to  a  merciless,  dry  brightness  that 
came  on  as  soon  as  the  sun  blazed  up  over  the 
glittering  ranges.  It  seemed  as  if  night  were 
no  sooner  gone  than  day  leaped  up,  full  armed 
and  fiendishly  eager  to  clamp  down  the  brazen 
dome  of  noontide  on  the  sun-baked  plain. 

And  as  Alva  stood  there  staring  with  fixed 
fierceness  at  the  yellow  ground,  where  the 
beady-eyed  lizards  flickered  through  the  thin 
shadows  of  the  greasewood  and  the  ugly  ref- 
use of  the  camp  glittered,  unburied,  in  the 
searching  light,  it  came  to  her  that  she,  ap- 
parently, was  the  only  person  in  Magnet  who 
knew  the  man  Randall  as  he  really  was.  Long 
ago  she  had  acknowledged  his  strength,  but 
she  had  never  seen  till  now  how  cleverly  it 
cloaked  his  selfishness. 

She  began  to  see  two  personalities  in  him: 
One  of  the  two  was  keen,  purposeful,  and  ac- 
tive-minded, even  charitable  and  gentle  where 
it  suited  his  aims.  The  other  was  animated 
by  a  calculating  selfishness  that  was  controlled 
by  an  exceptionally  adroit  brain.  Of  course, 
there  was  no  such  thing  as  remorse  in  his  char- 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  125 

acter,  for  he  could  not  afford  to  waste  time  on 
it.  Nor  was  there  pity,  except  where  policy 
dictated  that  it  should  be  shown. 

And  so  she  glowered,  moody-eyed,  from  her 
doorway,  feeding  her  over-wrought  mind  on 
miserable  thoughts  until  she  had  nothing  but 
hatred  for  a  man  who  could  deceive  her  so 
shrewdly. 

Alongside  the  tent  the  brush  crackled  as 
someone  strode  hastily  through  it  from  the 
street  in  front.  Before  she  knew  it,  she  found 
herself  looking  into  Randall's  eyes. 

Taller  and  noticeably  broader  in  his  work- 
ing clothes  than  in  the  better-shaped  garments 
she  had  always  seen  him  wear,  he  dropped  his 
shining  lunch  bucket  on  the  ground  and 
laughed  freely  as  he  put  out  his  hand  to  re- 
strain the  shrinking  that  he  thought  was  due 
only  to  surprise. 

*T  figured  you'd  be  here,"  he  said,  with  a 
twinkle  in  his  eye  over  the  success  of  his  small 
stratagem.  "Those  young  friends  of  yours 
are  thicker  than  flies  around  a  sugar  barrel 
out  in  front.  I've  only  a  minute  now  before 
I  go  on  shift — but  I  want  you  to  go  with  me 
to  that  dance  to-night.     Will  you?" 

Vigorous,  clear-eyed  and  clean,  there  was  an 


126  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

almost  oppressive  freshness  of  youth  and 
strength  in  his  movements.  Less  Hke  a  man 
to-day  than  Hke  a  big,  fearless,  laughing  boy, 
with  a  broad,  deep  chest  and  a  full  brown 
throat  that  swelled  against  the  band  of  his 
shirt,  he  thrust  such  an  overpowering  sense  of 
virility  on  her  as  to  make  her  head  swim.  She 
threw  up  her  arm  convulsively,  as  if  to  ward 
off  something. 

A  thousand  thoughts  flashed  through  her 
mind  in  the  tumult,  but  out  of  all  her  mingled 
feelings  of  fear  and  attraction  a  single  impulse 
rose  dominant,  and  that,  curiously  enough,  con- 
tained nothing  that  concerned  Donald.  It  was 
one  of  purely  personal  anger — of  disgust  at 
a  man  who  would  deliberately  leave  her  com- 
panionship to  seek  that  of  a  common  mining- 
camp  entertainer. 

''After  your  careful  confessions  of  yester- 
day," she  said,  with  biting  distinctness,  ''I  did 
not  believe  that  all  women  would  seem  alike  to 
you — but  I  see  I  was  mistaken." 

At  this  curious  answer  to  his  invitation,  the 
man  drew  back  a  step  and  stood  still. 
Whether  or  not  he  was  surprised  by  the  sud- 
den attack,  he  gave  no  sign  of  anything  ex- 
cept the  most  acute  attention.     With  eyes  as 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  127 

steady  as  his  motionless  body,  he  stood  watch- 
ing and  waiting  silently,  as  if  he  saw  that  she 
had  not  yet  had  all  her  say. 

Translating  this  as  pure  brazenness  and 
scorning  him  the  more  for  it,  she  lowered  her 
voice  so  as  to  make  her  words  bite  deeper. 

*'Why  come  to  me  for  your  dances?''  she 
asked,  through  her  set  teeth,  while  her  eyes 
glittered.  *'Why  not  seek  those  who  are  more 
accustomed  to  make  your  entertainment? 
Can  it  be  that  you,  like  the  ^friend'  you  spoke 
of  so  feelingly  yesterday,  are  seeking  inspira- 
tion? What  makes  you  think  you  can  find  it 
here?  You  flatter  me  too  much.  I  had  not 
guessed  I  would  ever  be  used  to  serve  so  in- 
teresting a  purpose.  In  fact,  I  must  confess 
that  I  had  never  considered  entering  the  race 
at  all — and  shall  have  to  decline  now.'' 

His  face  whitened  perceptibly  and  his  brows 
knitted,  but  he  did  not  step  back.  With  his 
eyes  still  quiet  on  hers,  he  seemed  to  be  try- 
ing to  understand  the  nature  of  her  hot  anger 
rather  than  its  words. 

She  felt  this  and  instantly  grew  furious. 
It  was  too  much  as  if  he  were  a  judicial  parent 
meditating  the  tantrums  of  a  petulant  child. 

"Go!"     she     commanded     contemptuously. 


128  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

''You  sicken  me.  I  only  wonder  if  your  curi- 
ous sense  of  decency  has  been  waked  enough 
to  keep  you  from  approaching  me  again.  I 
shall  go  to  your  dance  to-night,  but  it  will  not 
be  with  anyone  so  magnificently  adaptable  as 
yourself.     Have  I  made  myself  clear?'' 

''No,  Miss  Leigh,"  he  answered  quietly, 
"you  have  not.  It  so  happens  that  I  know 
what  you're  driving  at — but  you  are  com- 
pletely mistaken." 

She  stared  for  a  moment,  and  then  laughed 
derisively.  "Do  you  ask  me  to  disbelieve  what 
everyone  in  the  camp  knows?  Because  I  am 
the  last  to  know  must  I  be  the  first  to  be  de- 
ceived again?" 

"Miss  Leigh,"  he  said,  while  his  strong,  level 
eyes  began  to  take  command,  "doesn't  your 
good  sense  tell  you  that  you've  got  me  figured 
out  all  wrong  here?  Of  course,  if  you  have 
what  you  think  is  proof  of  something  against 
me,  it  would  be  hard  to  leave  it  out  of  your 
calculations,  but  let  all  that  go  for  a  minute. 
Ask  yourself  about  me — just  plain  me.  Have 
I  acted  like  a  dishonorable  man?  What  is  it 
that  backs  up  your  proof?  What  is  behind  it 
all?" 

Alva  hesitated  before  she  cast  oflf  all  re- 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  129 

straint.  His  words  demanded  the  precise  an- 
swer which  she  could  not  give.  Confronted 
with  the  necessity  of  flatly  accusing  him  of 
consorting  with  abandoned  women,  her  proofs 
seemed  so  pitifully  thin  and  weak  that  she 
dared  not  face  the  look  that  would  surely  come 
into  those  relentless  eyes. 

She  put  up  her  hand  in  a  repelling  gesture 
that  seemed  to  express  both  weariness  and  dis- 
gust.    The  truth  was  that  most  of  it  was  fear. 

''Why  should  I  have  a  reason?"  she  asked, 
with  a  swift  attack  to  which,  she  knew,  there 
could  be  no  defense.  "The  matter  is  entirely 
personal.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I — I — I — have 
taken  a  dislike  to  you — a  personal  dislike. 
What  is  to  be  looked  into  there?  Even  if 
nothing  could  be  proved  about  you,  I  fail  to  see 
why  I  should  be  forced  to  discuss  my  private 
tastes.  Yes,  we  can  let  it  stand  on  that,"  she 
went  on,  as  he  began  to  draw  back.  ''You  will 
not  be  far  wrong  if  you  think  there  are  things 
about  you  that  I  find  detestable — personal  qual- 
ities that  are  intensely  repugnant — things  that 
I— I—" 

Alva's  voice  faded  away  before  the  awful 
look  that  came  into  the  man's  eyes.  Astonish- 
ment, sorrow,  pitiful  disappointment,  and  a  mo- 


I30  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

mentarily  self-accusing  shame  swept  across  his 
face  in  waves.  His  chin  fell,  and  he  grew 
almost  haggard.  He  shrank  back  as  if  he  had 
been  lashed  with  a  whip,  his  eyes  full  of 
mortal  hurt.  She  had  cut  deep  into  the  only 
spot  that  he  could  never  hope  to  protect. 

*1  guess — I  guess  I  can't  say  much  against 
that,"  he  said,  in  a  colorless  voice.  'T  reckon 
it  wouldn't  be  much  use  to  try.  Thafs  some- 
thing I  can't  ever  beat — no — not  ever."  His 
eyes  were  dull  and  lifeless — a  blank  wall  be- 
hind which  he  was  passing  through  cruel  tor- 
tures. His  hand,  generally  so  expressive  in 
gestures,  moved  weakly  as  he  tried  to  collect 
his  thoughts.  *'I  wonder  how  I  was  so  big  a 
fool  as  not  to  see  your  feelings  before.  Per- 
haps I  could  have  changed  some,  then — or 
tried  to  fix  myself  up  different.  But  probably 
not.  Because  if  I'm  a  mean,  low  fellow,  as- 
sociating with  bums,  male  and  female — why, 
then,  I  reckon  I  have  always  been  one — and  it 
wouldn't  do  much  good  to  try  to  change." 

He  paused  and  raised  his  haggard  face. 

"I  guess  I'll  go  now,"  he  said.  'There  isn't 
anything  that  I  can  do  or  say.  I  know,  of 
course,  just  as  I  always  have  known,  that  there 
are  plenty  of  things  about  me  that  would  seem 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  131 

unpleasant  to  a  lady,  but  IVe  always  kept  hop- 
ing that  they  were  only  the  little  things  that 
could  be  changed — that  she  might  even  like  to 
change,  so  as  to  show  them  as  her  work.  I've 
hoped  that  they  were  only  stringers,  and  that 
the  main  vein  was  just  a  little  higher  grade. 

*'But  I  reckon  I  didn't  make  a  close  enough 
assay.  Your  weigh-up  seems  to  have  been  a 
little  more  correct.  Still — I  can't  help  wish- 
ing that  you'd  tell  me  why — that  you'd  be  fair 
and  show  your  samples.  Somehow,  it  seems 
as  if  you  had  made  your  inspection  just  a  teeny 
bit  late.  Because,  if  my  clothes  aren't  clean, 
or  my  mind  polished  up  and  perfumed,  or  my 
remarks  tied  up  with  little  pink  ribbons,  why, 
they  weren't  that  way  yesterday,  either — " 

He  halted,  struck  by  a  sudden  thought. 

"Nor  yesterday — nor  yesterday,  either,"  he 
repeated. 

For  some  reason,  his  eyes  lost  their  dulled 
look,  and  grew  bright  with  returning  vitality. 
He  turned  back  and  scrutinized  her  as  she 
stood  with  head  averted  and  hand  put  out  to 
motion  him  away.  He  looked  once  more — 
with  a  hungering,  irresistible  probing  of  his  re- 
lentless eyes — then  made  one  great  step  for- 
ward and  caught  her  hand, 


132  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

"It  isn't  that — and  you  know  it!"  he  whis- 
pered fiercely.  ''You  couldn't  hate  me  so  after 
all  these  weeks." 

''How  dare  you  ?"  she  flamed.  "Unloose  my 
hand!  Go!  I  do  hate  you  and  despise  you, 
just  as  I  said — "  She  broke  into  a  sudden 
storm  of  tears  and  hid  her  face  in  her  arm. 

"Z}(?  you  hate  me?"  he  murmured  exultantly 
in  her  ear.  "Why,  Alva — I  don't  care.  Go 
right  ahead — you  can  hurt  me  all  you  want  to 
now/' 

"Go!"  she  cried  from  behind  her  shielding 
arm.     "I  have  nothing  to  say." 

"Yes.  I'll  go,"  he  answered  happily,  and 
released  her  hand.  He  laughed  outright  and 
squared  his  shoulders.  His  precious  posses- 
sion had  not  been  stolen,  after  all.  "You 
wouldn't  say  such  foolish  things  about  me  un- 
less the  real  reason  behind  it  all  was  no  good 
— and  so  I'm  not  afraid  of  that  one,  either. 
Good-by — till  to-night."  He  picked  up  his 
pail,  and  was  gone. 

When  Alva's  next  connected  thought  came 
to  her,  she  was  in  her  dining  room,  staring 
around  among  her  empty  tables.  She  felt  weak 
and  shell-like — as  if  she  had  been  sapped  of  all 
power  to  think.     The.  moment  he  had  begun  to 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  133 

speak  for  himself — at  the  mere  sound  of  his 
voice — she  had  weakly  lost  faith  in  her  convic- 
tions again.  Something  was  wrong — some- 
where— everywhere — and  she  rubbed  her  hand 
against  her  forehead  in  an  attempt  to  ease  her 
troubled  mind. 

Something  scratched  her  cheek,  and  she  saw 
the  letter  that  Mrs.  Baker  had  given  her, 
clutched  in  her  fingers.  She  studied  the 
crudely  printed  address  with  puzzled  eyes, 
caught  the  scent  of  musk  which  established  the 
letter's  source  better  than  a  signature  could 
have  done,  then  opened  it,  her  lips  curling  with 
disdain. 

Ask  Dick  Randall  why  they  never  tried  to  find 
the  man  that  shot  young  Jaffray. 

Alva  threw  back  her  head  and  laughed — 
loud  and  hysterically.  At  the  sound  of  a  step 
behind  her,  she  turned,  still  laughing  wildly, 
and  saw  Duncan,  clean  shaven  and  well 
dressed,  standing  in  the  doorway. 

''About  that  dance  to-night,''  he  began 
eagerly,  with  a  fatuous  smile  over  his  recep- 
tion.    "I  came — " 

"To  ask  me  to  go,"  interrupted  Alva.  'T'll 
be  delighted." 


134  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

She  met  him  halfway  and  gave  him  both  her 
hands,  her  wide  eyes  and  heightened  color  giv- 
ing out  so  vivid  a  sense  of  what  he  thought  was 
pleasure  that  his  face  reddened,  and  he  stam- 
mered. 

"It's  about  time  you  asked  me!"  she  heard 
a  wildly  vibrant  voice  saying.  ''You!  To  say 
all  those  nice  things  to  me  only  two  nights  ago 
and  then  never  come  near  me  for  a  whole  day ! 
Is  that  the  way  you  treat  ladies  up  in  Idaho?" 
Her  voice,  surely — ^but  where  did  such  strange 
words  come  from  ? 

"But  you  big,  good-looking  men  are  all 
alike,"  her  voice  went  on,  with  a  gayly  railing 
note.  "If  I  told  you  that  I'd  refused  another 
man  to  wait  for  you,  you'd  be  so  conceited  that 
you'd  never  dance  with  me  at  all — now,  would 
you?"  And  this  strange,  warm-breathed,  big- 
eyed  Alva  was  suddenly  in  overpowering  prox- 
imity to  him,  her  fresh,  red  mouth  pouting  her 
mock  anger  dangerously  close  to  his  own. 
"Don't  tell  me  that  the  only  friend  I  have  in 
camp  would  treat  me  that  way." 

"But  Randall — "  the  man  stammered,  un- 
willing to  believe  his  ears. 

"Oh,  if  you  don't  want  me,  just  say  so,"  she 
said  airily.    "Are  you  making  up  other  men's 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  135 

dance  cards  for  them?  Isn't  mine  enough? 
Run  along,  now,  and  don't  bother  me.  You're 
a  nuisance.  What  time  shall  you  come  for 
me?"  And  she  saw  someone's  fingers  ac- 
tually twisting  a  button  on  his  coat. 

^'Around  nine  o'clock,"  he  answered  thickly, 
and  reached  out  his  arms,  only  to  feel  her  slip 
tantalizingly  out  of  his  grasp. 

Noon  and  the  dinner  hour  came. 

Wherever  Alva  passed  between  the  lines  of 
crowded  tables,  men  covertly  wiped  their  lips 
and  leaned  back  with  a  smile  to  speak  about  the 
dance. 

"Duncan's  rightly  no  waltzer,  ma'am. 
You'll  not  be  forgetting  your  real  friends  to- 
night." 

"I'm  Mormonish  in  my  ways,  and  pray  be- 
fore each  dance.  Kin  I  start  work  now  on  that 
third  two-step?" 

"Make  him  show  his  union  card,  lady.  Me 
— I  got  a  certificate  from  the  gov'ment  on  my 
dancing !" 

At  the  end  of  one  of  the  tables,  however, 
she  encountered  another  element,  for  as  she 
paused  there,  a  man  with  a  heavy  black  beard, 
whom  she  recognized  as  Randall's  relief  at  the 
Cactus  shaft,  spoke  to  her  in  an  undertone: 


136  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

"Is  Duncan  your  real  choice  for  to-night, 
ma'am?'' 

"Yes.  I  expect  to  go  with  Mr.  Duncan," 
Alva  answered,  before  she  thought.  "But  I 
hardly  see  why  you  ask." 

Dropping  her  eyes  rather  casually  to  meet 
his  own,  she  was  surprised  to  find  them  entirely 
lacking  in  the  semi-flirtatious  interest  she  had 
expected.  On  the  contrary,  the  black-bearded 
man  seemed  weighing  some  policy  in  his  mind, 
and  the  flavor  of  watchfulness  and  possible  in- 
terference that  the  look  held  made  her  flush 
with  anger. 

"Are  you  quite  sure  that  it  is  your  business 
to  know  with  whom  I  go  to  dances  ?"  she  asked 
icily. 

"Well,"  answered  the  man,  with  a  deadly 
definiteness  that  she  had  encountered  once  or 
twice  before  among  such  men  in  Magnet,  "I 
simply  wanted  to  know,  and  now  I  do  know. 
No  harm  done,  lady.     Scull  me  the  cake,  Jim." 

An  hour  later,  the  tool  boy  from  the  Cactus 
shaft  knocked  at  her  door  and  handed  in  a  note 
nipped  twixt  greasy  thumb  and  finger.  The 
note  had  been  written  hastily  in  pencil — and 
there  was  a  drop  of  oil  on  the  outside.  Alva's 
eyes  hardened  as  soon  as  she  saw  it. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  137 

"There  is  no  answer/'  she  said,  and,  tearing 
the  note  in  pieces,  she  let  it  fall  on  the  floor. 
As  the  boy  lounged  away,  with  his  tongue  in 
his  cheek,  she  looked  down  and  read  on  an  up- 
turned fragment,  *'don't.''  Alva  slid  her  foot 
across  the  paper  and  blotted  out  the  word. 

That  afternoon  she  spent  with  Mrs.  Baker, 
who,  after  puzzling  over  her  friend's  alternate 
fits  of  gayety  and  moroseness,  finally  spoke  her 
mind  as  follows: 

"YouVe  got  just  the  same  amount  of  sense 
to-day  as  a  week-old  jack  rabbit.  Something 
tells  me  you'll  be  making  a  lot  of  trouble  to- 
night among  the  men.  I  must  say  I  never 
figured  you  were  such  a  perfectly  scandalous 
flirt." 

The  woman  with  the  ever-growing  pain  in 
the  back  of  her  head  looked  utterly  incredulous. 

''Flirtr  she  echoed  hollowly.  "Then  the 
desert  has  indeed  changed  me."  And,  after 
another  moment's  staring  at  the  calm  and  col- 
lected postmistress,  she  murmured  an  inaud- 
ible good-by,  and  slipped  out  of  the  door,  a 
thoughtful,  almost  frightened,  look  on  her  face. 

As  she  passed  down  the  street,  she  saw  Ran- 
dall. He  was  standing  on  a  corner,  talking  in 
low  tones  with  one  of  the  men  who  had  met 


138  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

him  the  afternoon  before.  As  she  passed  by 
with  only  a  faint  inclination  of  her  head  she 
heard  the  fragmentary  sentence,  "He  bought 
a  pair  of  spurs  at  four  o'clock/*  Almost  at 
once,  a  step  sounded  behind  her,  and  she  felt 
him  walking  at  her  side. 

"Unless  you  want  to  make  both  of  us  look 
foolish,  you  might  let  me  walk  a  little  way  with 
you,"  he  said.     "People  are  watching." 

"I'm  not  responsible,"  she  answered  coldly. 

"Perhaps  not,"  was  the  reply,  "and  I'm  risk- 
ing things  much  worse  than  that  which  you 
might  say,  but  I  must  tell  you  again  that  you 
may  make  a  mistake  to-night — " 

"I  shall  ask  you  to  leave  me  here,"  she  in- 
terrupted. "I  don't  care  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  you — and  I'm  quite  able  to  take  care  of 
myself." 

He  looked  at  her  with  a  wistful  expression 
in  his  fine  eyes,  while  his  face  grew  even  graver 
than  before. 

"I'm  sorry,"  he  said,  with  no  bitterness  in 
his  tones.  "Remember  this  much,  anyway" — 
and  his  eyes  shone  on  her  with  so  much  of 
their  old,  kindly  light  that  she  could  not  help 
marveling — "I'll  always  be  there  T 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  139 

Evening  came,  and  lights  sprang  up  in  the 
new,  yellow-boarded  town  hall.  At  nine 
o'clock,  Mrs.  Baker  made  her  appearance,  os- 
tensibly to  borrow  a  brooch,  but  when  she 
found  that  Alva  was  dressed  and  ready,  she 
hurried  away  without  the  ornament.  Her 
house  was  full  of  ribbony  Mormon  girls  fight- 
ing for  the  mirror,  she  said,  and  the  front  par- 
lor was  a  foot  deep  in  violet  talcum. 

"Oh,  yes,''  she  added  briefly  over  her  shoul- 
der. "There's  something  doing  to-night  among 
the  men,  too,  though  I  don't  know  just  what  it 
is.     We'll  hear  more  about  it  in  the  morning." 

Alva  resumed  her  seat  by  the  dining-room 
lamp  and  took  up  her  unread  book  again.  She 
had  been  there  for  nearly  an  hour,  staring  at 
the  blank  walls  of  the  tent  and  wondering  what 
mad  impulse  had  driven  her  to  accept  a  com- 
paratively unknown  escort.  The  hysteria  of 
the  night  and  morning  had  given  way  to  a  re- 
signed floating  with  the  current,  yet  she  could 
not  help  pondering  that  twice-rejected  advice 
and  the  vague  rumors  that  had  come  to  Mrs. 
Baker's  ears. 

But  although  her  regret  for  her  bargain 
steadily  grew,  she  had  not  long  to  puzzle  over 


140  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

these  things,   for  Duncan  presented  himself 
promptly,  and  she  saw  that  she  would  have  to 

go- 

*Tf  only  he  has  been  drinking,  I  can  refuse," 
she  thought  hopefully.  But  there  was  nothing 
objectionable  in  Duncan's  face  or  manner. 
The  only  thing  she  noticed  about  him  was  a 
certain  quietness  that  contrasted  oddly  with  his 
good  spirits  of  that  morning. 

As  she  looked  at  him  in  the  full  light  of  the 
lamp,  however,  she  began  to  realize  how  v€ry 
little  she  actually  knew  about  the  man,  and,  ex- 
cept for  his  deceptive  smile,  how  thin-lipped  and 
hard-faced  he  was.  She  said  something  to 
make  his  lips  part  and  saw  that  his  smile  was 
forced;  she  knew  now  that  it  had  always  been 
that  way,  if  she  had  only  taken  time  to  study 
it.  The  conviction  grew  on  her  that  some- 
thing was  very  wrong  with  him  to-night,  and, 
in  an  agony  of  regret  for  her  rashness,  she  cast 
about  desperately  for  some  reasonable  excuse 
that  would  allow  escape. 

Music  started  up  in  the  hall  next  door  while 
she  kept  him  waiting  on  various  pretexts,  and 
she  heard  the  grate  of  feet  on  the  porch. 
Again  she  studied  him,  and  saw  a  hidden  ten- 
sion in  his  attitude  and  an  obvious  effort  to 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  141 

hear  what  was  being  said  outside.  He  passed 
his  tongue  across  his  Hps,  as  if  they  were  dry, 
and  swallowed  with  a  visible  effort. 

"Well,"  he  said  nervously.  "Well?  Shall 
we  go  ?" 

It  seemed  to  Alva  as  if  she  were  living  and 
acting  in  a  dream.  She  could  not  guess  what 
the  man  before  her  had  done,  but  she  now  knew 
perfectly  well  that  he  had  committed  some 
crime.  And  yet  she  felt  as  helpless  as  if  she 
were  in  the  grip  of  some  horrible  nightmare. 
While  every  instinct  fought  in  favor  of  refusal 
the  ghastly  shape  of  impending  tragedy  so  filled 
her  mind  that  it  numbed  her  into  silence.  As 
they  neared  the  door,  the  horror  of  her  position 
finally  overcame  everything  else,  and  she 
halted,  with  a  blanched  face.  But  other 
couples  behind  them  forced  them  on,  and  she 
passed  into  the  well-filled  room  and  crossed  as 
quickly  as  possible  to  where  Mrs.  Baker, 
fllanked  by  her  Mormon  friends,  sat  surrounded 
by  a  dozen  men. 

No  sooner  had  she  gained  a  seat  near  the 
protecting  wing  and  collected  herself,  than  she, 
in  turn,  was  surrounded,  and,  with  the 
strengthening  influence  of  friendly  faces  buoy- 
ing her  up,  she  decided  to  feign  illness  and  es- 


142  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

cape  at  the  first  opportunity.  Duncan,  she 
saw,  was  hovering  about  on  the  outside  of  the 
circle,  but  her  sensibiHties,  now  grown  tremen- 
dously acute,  interpreted  every  nervous  half 
laugh  he  gave,  and  read  every  uneasy  look. 

In  spite  of  Mrs.  Baker's  presence,  a  chill  of 
fear  gathered  around  her  heart.  She  began  to 
be  unable  to  look  about  her.  Music,  gayety, 
laughter,  polished  floor,  and  hum  of  voices,  all 
became  a  ghastly  travesty  of  enjoyment.  For 
all  the  set  smile  with  which  she  made  her 
answers,  her  face  grew  pinched  and  white. 
Lifting  her  misery-full  eyes  with  an  effort  at 
the  sound  of  a  voice  close  by,  she  felt  herself 
grow  cold  from  head  to  foot.  The  night-hoist 
engineer  from  the  Cactus  shaft — the  black- 
bearded  man  at  the  end  of  the  table — was 
speaking  to  her  in  the  same  significant  tones 
that  he  had  used  that  morning.  When  she 
caught  the  note  of  warning  in  his  voice,  she 
knew  that  the  end  was  not  far  oflf. 

"Lady,''  said  he,  *T  guess  you  ain't  feeling 
very  peart  to-night.  You  look  like  you'd  bet- 
ter be  home.  I'll  take  you,  lady,  if  you  want 
to  go." 

The  look  of  agony  that  she  turned  on  him 
was  enough  to  let  him  read  her  instant  con- 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  143 

sent,  but  before  she  could  rise,  the  music 
started  up,  and  Duncan  stood  before  her. 

*'My  dance,"  he  said,  with  his  thin  smile. 
"Not  figuring  to  steal  this  lady  away  from  me, 
are  you,  Ryan?'' 

The  black-bearded  man  rose  as  Alva  rose, 
and  moved  away,  with  barely  a  glance  at  the 
questioner. 

*'No.  I  never  worked  at  thieving  much,"  he 
said.  "I'm  'most  too  tired  out  at  night  to  have 
two  trades.  I'll  be  waiting,  lady — out  by  the 
door.     I'll  reckon  you'll  be  going  soon." 

It  was  on  the  tip  of  her  tongue  to  cry  out  to 
him  to  wait,  but  as  she  faltered,  the  black- 
bearded  man  quickened  his  steps  toward  the 
door,  as  if  he  saw  something  there,  and  in  an- 
other moment  it  was  too  late.  They  were 
standing.  The  music  was  playing.  Eyes  were 
watching.     They  must  dance. 

As  they  moved  across  the  hall  and  turned 
down  the  side  in  a  waltz,  Alva  felt  that  every- 
one's eyes  were  on  them.  She  also  saw  that 
the  doorway  was  full  of  men,  in  some  way  a 
different-looking  group  from  the  idlers  who 
generally  hung  around  the  entrance.  As  their 
slow  circling  brought  them  nearer,  she  saw 
Randall  in  the  front  row  and  behind  him  the 


144  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

set,  watchful  faces  of  the  men  whom  she  had 
often  seen  with  him  before.  Beside  him  stood 
the  forlorn,  but  picturesque,  figure  of  Danny 
the  Bum,  resurrected  lately  from  some  hiding 
place,  much  the  worse  for  wear. 

Nearer  and  nearer  the  circling  two  came  to 
the  group  in  the  doorway,  and  more  and  more 
Alva  felt  the  force  of  their  eyes.  When  they 
came  opposite,  she  saw  Randall  turn  to  the 
crowd  and  shake  his  head.  While  she  won- 
dered what  it  all  meant,  she  felt  her  partner's 
arm  slacken  and  saw  Danny  the  Bum  spring 
out  of  the  group  with  a  shrill  cry  of  alarm. 

'That's  him!  There  he  is!"  he  shouted. 
"The  felluh  wot  held  'em  up  at  the  Point  o' 
Rocks!" 

Instantly  Alva  felt  herself  swung  ten  feet 
or  more  away  across  the  slippery  floor. 
Whether  the  man  pushed  her  or  she  sprang 
away  she  never  knew,  but  immediately  she  was 
crouching  against  a  bench  by  the  wall.  Look- 
ing back,  she  saw  a  revolver  flash  out  in  Dun- 
can's hand,  as  the  men  at  the  door  broke  for 
him  across  the  shining  floor. 

Randall  was  foremost,  his  face  distorted  in 
an  effort  to  reach  the  shrill-voiced  Danny  a 
step  ahead.     Later,  she  remembered  that  he 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  145 

cried  out  to  the  men  behind  him  not  to  shoot. 

In  front  of  her  and  all  around  the  hall,  men 
stopped  dancing  and  threw  back  their  coats 
or  dug  frantically  at  their  waistbands.  But 
Alva  somehow  knew  that  all  would  be  too 
late.  The  sinister  thing  in  Duncan's  hand  had 
been  leveled  too  long — was  pointed  too 
straight.  Yet  she  also  knew  that  the  weapon 
was  not  pointed  at  the  shrunken  figure  of  the 
accuser,  but  at  the  man  now  half  in  front  of 
Danny,  trying  to  thrust  him  ba,ck.  Just  before 
the  deafening  roar  of  the  revolver  sounded,  she 
heard  an  ear-piercing  sound.  Afterward,  she 
learned  that  she  had  screamed. 

There  was  no  second  shot.  Only  a  rushing 
wave  of  men  that  broke  a  little  over  a  body, 
and  then  rolled  over  the  gunman  and  beat  him 
savagely  to  the  floor.  Panting  and  yelling, 
they  fought  for  holds  on  his  arms  and  legs. 
Most  of  all,  they  clutched  at  the  angrily  fight- 
ing hand  that  waved  the  weapon  dangerously 
about  until  a  heavy  boot  stamped  down  on  it 
with  frightful  force  and  crushed  the  revolver 
out  of  its  grasp.  Then  they  disentangled 
themselves,  cursing  fluently  with  relief,  and  left 
two  of  their  number  sitting  on  the  prisoner, 
one  of  whom  pulled  a  pair  of  handcufifs  from 


146  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

his  pocket  and  manacled  the  wrists  that  the 
other  held  up.  Then  the  man  who  had  had 
the  handcuffs  stood  up  and  looked  about  him. 
It  was  Randall. 

"Get  back,  everybody,"  Alva  heard  him  say. 
"Clear  the  hall,  boys.  This  will  end  the  danc- 
ing. You're  all  safe,  ladies.  We're  sorry  we 
had  to  make  such  a  muss." 

He  stooped  over  the  smaller  of  the  two  men 
on  the  floor  and  spoke  to  him  gently. 

"Everything's  all  right  now,  Danny,"  he 
said,  with  a  good-humored  pat  on  the  back. 
"We're  much  obliged  to  you.  You'd  better  get 
up  and  dance." 

But  Danny  did  not  look  as  if  he  had  heard, 
and  Danny  did  not  get  up,  even  though  he 
might  dance.  Danny  had  "business  to  trans- 
act." The  time  had  come  for  the  Head  Book- 
keeper to  cast  up  Danny's  accounts  and  strike 
a  final  balance.  And  it  was  not  Danny's  little 
book  that  carried  the  last  and  greatest  credit, 
nor  any  book  in  Magnet. 

"He  jumped  in  front  of  me!"  Alva  heard 
Randall  crying,  as  he  straightened  up.  His 
eyes  swept  the  room  until  they  found  hers,  and 
then  plunged  into  them,  stark  with  regret,     "I 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  147 

was  trying  to  hold  him  back,  but  he  saw  it  com- 
ing, and  took  it  for  himself!" 

He  spoke  out  his  defense  to  her  over  the 
heads  of  the  crowd  with  as  instinctive  an  ap- 
peal for  belief  as  a  husband's  voice  would  have 
carried  to  his  wife.  It  was  as  if  she  must 
know  at  once  exactly  how  it  had  happened. 

For  a  moment  his  self-possession  seemed  to 
leave  him,  but  presently  the  wild  look  left  his 
face  and  his  eyes  grew  calm  again.  When 
they  shifted  from  hers  and  the  chain  was 
broken,  Alva  realized  all  that  her  rashness  this 
day  had  cost  her.  Sick  at  heart,  she  covered 
her  face  with  her  hands  and  sank  back  against 
the  wall. 

Feet  were  hurrying  past  her  to  the  door  in 
the  wake  of  the  grim  group  surrounding  the 
prisoner,  and  she  heard  voices  calling  to  her  as 
the  women  scurried  by  in  frightened  haste,  but 
all  such  sounds,  as  well  as  the  hoarse  shouts 
ringing  in  the  street,  the  rush  of  footsteps 
along  the  sidewalks,  and  the  exclamations  of 
the  men  as  they  turned  over  the  body  on  the 
floor,  were  lost  in  the  wave  of  misery  that 
drowned  her  soul.  After  a  long  time,  when 
the  silence  had  forced  itself  on  her,  she  took 


148  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

her  hands  from  her  eyes  and  saw  Mrs.  Baker 
sitting  quietly  beside  her. 

The  older  woman  reached  over  and  took  an 
unresisting  hand  in  a  firm  grip. 

''Now,  don't  you  go  to  feeling  bad,  Alva," 
she  said.  "You  couldn't  help  it.  Nobody 
could — not  even  Dick  Randall,  though  he 
tried  mighty  hard  at  the  last  minute.  If 
Danny  hadn't  made  his  break,  they'd  have 
taken  him  when  they  wanted  him  and  not  be- 
fore." 

Alva's  face  seemed  set  in  stone.  With  star- 
ing, tearless  eyes  she  looked  straight  before 
her. 

"All  that  is  of  no  consequence  whatever," 
she  said,  in  a  dead  voice.     "I  am  disgracedT 

The  Westerner  stared  for  a  moment,  then 
frowned  and  gripped  the  limp  hand  tighter.     - 

"Alva,"  she  said  cuttingly,  "what  makes  you 
think  you're  so  darn'  much  better  than  the  rest 
of  us  out  here?  If  you're  disgraced,  then  so 
was  I  at  Hackberry  years  ago,  but  I  didn't  lose 
much  sleep  over  it,  because  nobody  would  have 
believed  it.  I  advise  you  to  get  next  to  your- 
self, Alva.  This  isn't  the  ballroom  of  the 
Palace  Hotel.  This  is  a  rough,  hard  place, 
where  we  do  the  best  we  can  for  our  fun  and 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  149 

get  all  out  of  life  that's  coming  to  us.  Maybe 
we  get  smutted  up  a  little,  but  we  know  we  did 
it  all  for  the  best,  and  so  it  doesn't  hurt  us, 
after  all. 

"But  the  thing  that  will  hurt  you  is  your 
thinking  you're  so  darned  good  that  now  you're 
done  for,  just  because  you  talked  for  a  while 
with  someone  who  wasn't  straight.  My  ad- 
vice to  you,  Alva,  is  to  get  a  good  grip  on  your- 
self and  go  home  to  bed.  The  worst  way  you 
can  put  on  airs  around  here  is  to  circulate  the 
idea  that  you're  disgraced." 

In  silent  response,  Alva  gathered  herself  to- 
gether and  let  the  other  woman  lead  her  from 
the  hall.  More  than  ever  a  mockery  in  this 
hideous  place,  the  cheap  bunting  draped  around 
the  unpainted  joists  and  flaring  lamps  seemed 
a  fitting  index  to  the  whole  tawdry  life,  but  for 
the  saving  clause  that  someone  had  taken  down 
a  section  of  the  bright  cheesecloth  and  laid  it 
over  Danny's  body. 

Within  the  ballroom  the  blood  spots  were 
bright  on  the  shining  floor,  but  outside,  the 
clean,  white  stars  were  gleaming,  and  the  great 
body  of  a  night  wind  was  pressing  softly  out 
of  the  vague  waste.  Never  in  her  life  before 
had  air  seemed  so  wildly  sweet.     She  opened 


ISO  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

her  mouth,  like  an  exhausted  runner,  and  drank 
it  down  with  long,  quivering  breaths.  She  felt 
as  if  she  had  broken  out  of  a  foul,  contaminat- 
ing jail.  The  open  space  about  her  was  like 
a  great  pool  of  water  into  which  she  might 
plunge  and  try  to  cleanse  herself. 

For  a  moment  the  two  women  stood  close  to- 
gether, listening.  Everywhere  saloon  doors 
were  fanning  and  men  were  running  and  shout- 
ing through  the  warm  darkness.  A  hundred 
yards  away,  a  crowd  bulked  vaguely  in  the  open 
street,  but  the  murmur  of  only  a  single  voice 
came  to  their  ears.  Presently  there  was  a  slow 
movement,  and  the  dark  mass  of  men,  with 
their  prisoner,  faded  silently  out  of  the  street 
and  passed  between  the  tents  on  to  the  open 
hillside  to  the  west. 

''I  wonder  what  they're  up  to  now?"  the 
Western  woman  muttered  thoughtfully. 
"There  ain't  any  jail,  you  know." 

'T  know,"  Alva  answered,  while  a  pang  went 
through  her  at  the  thought  of  her  foolish 
threat  against  Danny  the  day  before. 

As  the  two  women  watched  and  whispered, 
the  crowd  came  to  a  halt.  Someone  in  the 
group  lit  a  lantern.  A  man's  figure  showed 
motionless  among  the  others  shifting  around 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  151 

the  glow.  Then  a  hand  was  laid  on  his  shoul- 
der, and  he  seemed  to  slide  down  to  the 
ground,  sitting  stiffly  upright  as  if  he  were 
leaning  against  something. 

"They've  handcuffed  his  hands  behind  him 
around  a  post !"  Mrs.  Baker  whispered  under- 
standingly.     "Dick  Randall's  discovery  post!" 

A  cry  of  horror  rose  to  Alva's  lips. 

"In  the  graveyard?"  she  quavered,  yet  knew 
well  enough  where  it  was. 

"Why  not?"  the  other  woman  responded 
stonily.  "Didn't  he  send  Danny  there  ?  He'll 
be  there  himself  to-morrow.  Come,  Alva. 
We've  had  enough." 

Back  in  her  tent  alone,  Alva  lit  the  swinging 
lamp,  only  to  put  it  out  again  immediately,  and 
throw  herself,  face  downward,  on  her  bed  with- 
out undressing.  One  after  another  the  hor- 
rible day's  happenings  trooped  through  her 
mind  like  a  motion  picture  reel  that  would  never 
stop  unwinding  until,  at  an  hour  long  after 
midnight,  she  gave  up  all  hope  of  calming  her- 
self, and  lifted  her  hot  head  from  the  pillow. 

Some  time  before,  she  had  acquired  the 
habit  of  raising  the  western  wall  of  her  tent  so 
that  she  could  look  up  the  hillside  toward  Don- 
ald's grave  when  she  woke  in  the  early  morn- 


152  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

ing,  and  now,  as  she  stared  out,  she  saw  the 
tiny,  yellow  flame  of  a  lantern  flickering  near 
the  top  of  the  hill. 

The  camp  had  grown  strangely  still.  The 
tents  were  dark,  and  the  only  sound  that  came 
to  her  ears  was  the  mournful  howl  of  a  coyote 
trotting  over  the  plain.  The  moon  dropped 
down  to  the  edge  of  the  ragged  sky  line.  Out- 
lined against  the  bright  disk  she  saw  the  mo- 
tionless black  figure  of  a  man,  sitting  with  his 
back  against  a  post. 

Little  by  little  Alva  rose  from  her  bed.  She 
was  not  conscious  of  forming  any  determina- 
tion as  she  slipped  under  the  canvas  and  stepped 
out  into  the  brush,  or  of  arriving  at  her  action 
by  any  particular  process  of  reasoning.  On 
the  contrary,  it  was  merely  the  old,  grim  resolve 
that  drove  her — the  never-forgotten  main- 
spring of  purpose  acting  on  the  realization  that 
to-morrow  the  man  huddled  there  on  the  hill- 
side in  hideous  silhouette  would  be  as  dead  as 
Magnet  and  a  rope  could  make  him,  and  that, 
with  his  passing,  her  principal  source  of  infor- 
mation would  be  gone  beyond  recall. 

There  was  no  more  than  this — no  remem- 
brance of  Randall's  warnings  or  weighing  of 
his  motives — not  even  a  recollection  of  that 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  153 

crowded  moment  when  his  eyes  had  instinct- 
ively sought  hers  and  the  man  had  cried  out 
his  sorrow  over  Danny's  sacrifice.  Temporar- 
ily at  least,  all  these  things  were  forgotten, 
and  the  woman  was  walking  silently  but  swiftly 
up  the  hill  through  the  brush  with  her  eyes 
fixed  firmly  on  the  figure  and  the  light.  Near- 
ing  the  top  of  the  hill,  she  turned  off  and 
walked  over  to  where  two  men  were  seated  on 
the  ground,  their  revolvers  lying  between  their 
feet,  the  lantern  behind  them.  If  she  had  been 
thinking  of  it,  she  would  have  known  that  they 
had  been  conscious  of  her  approach  for  some 
time.  Both  the  men  rose  as  she  came  near,  but 
remained  silent. 

"I  should  like  to  speak  to  him,  if  there  are 
no  objections,"  Alva  said. 

"We'll  make  it  private  for  you,  ma'am,"  they 
said,  and  moved  away. 

Alva  went  directly  to  the  man  at  the  post. 
It  did  not  matter  if  he  were  asleep,  because  a 
long  time  ago — years,  it  seemed — she  had 
known  that  she  would  wake  him.  But  the  man 
handcuffed  to  the  post  was  not  asleep — and  he 
knew  her. 

''Duncan,"  said  Alva,  "do  you  know  why  I 
am  in  Magnet?" 


154  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

The  man  barely  lifted  his  dulled  eyes,  but 
she  read  his  answer  in  a  short  movement  of  his 
head.  She  also  saw  that  he  knew  what  the 
morning  would  bring.  With  the  end  so  plainly 
in  sight,  he  must  surely  speak  the  truth. 

'I'm  here  to  find  the  man  who  shot  Donald 
Jaffray.  I  think  you  know,  and  I  want  you  to 
tell  me  who  it  was." 

The  man  made  no  reply  for  a  time,  but  only 
wet  his  dried  lips  with  his  tongue  and  stared 
past  her.  When  he  spoke  at  last,  it  was  with 
a  counter  question. 

**You  were  talking  with  a  man  on  the  street 
to-day,"  he  said,  in  a  voice  so  dead  that  an  icy 
hand  seemed  to  reach  into  her  heart  and  close 
around  it.  "He  told  you  not  to  go  to  the  dance 
with  me  to-night.     Am  I  right?" 

"Yes,"  she  answered.  "But  what  has  that 
to  do  with  you  or  me?" 

The  man  raised  his  head  and  gave  her  one 
full,  searching  look.  Then,  although  she  could 
not  see  it,  his  eyes  grew  cold  with  the  hate  of  a 
dying  snake  that  knows  the  heel  that  crushed  it. 

"I'm  surprised  you  didn't  take  his  warning," 
he  said.  "But  perhaps  you  know  him  like  I 
do,  and  knew  he  would  be  figuring  to  make  it 
look  as  if  I'd  killed  young  Jaffray,  too.     Dead 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  155 

men  tell  no  tales,  they  say — so  Til  tell  'em  while 
I'm  still  alive.  If  you  want  Don  Jaffray's  mur- 
derer, you  know  where  to  find  him!" 

Alva  said  nothing.  Her  ears  had  heard  and 
her  mind  had  recorded  his  words,  but  she  was 
conscious  of  neither  exultation  nor  regret. 
She  had  simply  discovered  what  her  instinct 
had  sent  her  to  Magnet  to  discover  long  months 
ago.  In  fact,  now  that  part  of  it  was  over, 
the  matter  was  put  away  for  the  time  in  the 
face  of  the  more  miserable  present. 

The  silence  lengthened.  A  puff  of  wind 
came  up,  then  died  away.  The  coyote  whined 
for  a  second  time  across  the  waste.  The  moon 
sank  down  till  only  a  silver  edge  showed  above 
the  black  reef  of  the  hill.  The  tents  in  the 
town  below  seemed  like  balls  of  phosphorescent 
thistledown  floating  on  a  silver-gray  sea.  In- 
finite miles  away  the  bulk  of  the  mountains, 
half  seen,  darkened  the  sky.  Overhead,  the 
stars  began  to  glitter  whitely  for  the  last  time. 

Perhaps  it  was  no  narrow  cell  in  which  the 
man  beside  her  was  confined,  and  yet,  to  Alva, 
his  was  a  far  more  dreadful  prison.  Illimit- 
able distance  seemed  to  spread  out  on  every 
hand — long  reaches  down  through  the  sage- 
sweet  air  to  the  dry  lakes  and  deserts,  north, 


156  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

south,  east,  and  west — aye,  and  up  to  those 
crisp  stars  overhead — nothing  but  loneHness — 
infinity.  In  the  half  hght  of  approaching 
dawn,  the  hilltop  became  a  solitary  peak  from 
which  the  man  looked  out  over  the  whole  world 
— the  world  he  would  have  to  give  up  when 
they  spoke  to  him  in  the  morning.  It  was  only 
a  little  while,  now.  In  an  hour  or  two  the  sun 
would  come  up,  and  then — 

A  sound  of  voices  came  to  her.  Someone 
had  come  up  through  the  brush,  and  was  talk- 
ing with  the  guards.  She  caught  herself  to- 
gether with  a  shiver,  looked,  and  saw  the  two 
and  a  taller  man  behind  them  watching  her; 
then  saw  them  turn  away  and  fade  into  the 
darkness.  A  sense  of  her  curious  position  in 
their  eyes  came  to  her,  and  she  turned  to  hurry 
away.  But  the  man  raised  his  voice  at  the 
last  moment. 

"I'm  all  in,''  he  said,  with  his  chin  sunk  on 
his  breast  and  his  mouth  gone  slack.  "My 
checks  go  back  in  the  rack  to-morrow  for  some 
other  fellow  to  play  the  rotten  game  with  later 
on.  It's  a  funny  thing — this  life.  I  ain't 
ever  been  what  you'd  call  a  'good'  man,  I 
reckon,  but  I  never  figured  that  I'd  get  this 
deal.     And  here  you  come  into  my  life — from 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  157 

somewhere  out  there*' — and  he  nodded  his  head 
at  the  dark  mountains — "and  you  interfere 
with  my  play  and  I  get  careless,  and  before  I 
know  it — you — just  a  woman — a  plain,  ordi- 
nary woman  that  I  never  saw  before,  and  don't 
care  a  snap  of  my  finger  about — ^you  give  me 
the  little  push  that  sends  me  skyhooting  down 
the  trail  to  hell." 

He  paused  for  a  moment,  staring  out  over 
his  wide,  silent  world;  at  the  dark  pools  be- 
tween the  ranges  where  the  valleys  lay ;  then  up 
at  the  crisp,  white  stars  glittering  down 
through  the  millions  of  miles  of  loneliness. 

''It's  getting  cold,"  he  said.  "My  mind  is 
cold.  I  guess  that  where  I'm  going  will  be  a 
terrible  lonely  place.  Why  don't  they  tell  us 
it  ain't  a  fellow's  body  that  gets  hurt  when  he 
settles  up?  It  don't  seem  right  to  hide  a  fel- 
low's bill  till  he  goes  to  pay.  I  wonder  if  ever 
a  parson  saw  what  I  am  seeing  now !" 

Alva  could  stand  no  more. 

"Good-by!"  she  said.  "Thank  you  for  tell- 
ing me  what  I  wanted  to  know." 

She  put  out  her  hand  in  farewell,  then  real- 
ized the  futility  of  it,  and  hurried  away. 

Behind  her,  the  man  handcuffed  to  the  post 
broke  out  in  a  jeering  laugh. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  first  thing  Alva  was  conscious  o£ 
next  morning  was  that  she  was  wide 
awake  and  standing  in  the  middle  of  her  tent. 
She  did  not  know  what  had  roused  her  so  sud- 
enly,  but  as  she  stood  there  she  felt  a  galvanic 
movement  go  through  the  camp  from  end  to 
end  and  grow  with  the  sound  of  hurrying  feet 
and  slamming  doors.  Dressing  hastily,  she 
slipped  into  the  street. 

From  every  tent  and  bunk-house  men  were 
coming — hatless  and  half  dressed,  their  hair 
still  matted  over  their  eyes.  All  in  a  moment 
the  signal  had  gone  through  Magnet,  and,  as 
Alva  looked,  the  crowd  around  the  Miners' 
Hall  grew  to  hundreds.  Even  the  women 
were  astir,  and  Alva  could  see  Mrs.  Baker  and 
her  Mormon  charges  standing  in  front  of  the 
post  office  up  the  street.  Near  by,  on  the  cor- 
ner, the  freckle-faced  girl  who  slept  in  her 
cashier's  cage  in  Bindelmann's  store  made  a 
stiff  half  gesture  at  her,  only  to  drop  her  hand 
and  clutch  a  green  sweater  jacket  around  her 

158 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  159 

as  she  stared,  white-faced,  at  the  running, 
shouting  men. 

The  group  in  front  of  the  hall  seemed  com- 
posed of  two  bodies ;  an  inner  shell  of  men  who 
stood  still,  and  a  vast  fringe  of  newcomers  who 
constantly  circled  around  in  an  effort  to  find 
some  one  a  head  shorter  than  themselves. 
Finally  all  stood  quiet  while  one  man  spoke. 
Then  those  on  the  side  nearest  Alva  turned  and 
began  to  walk  toward  her  and  the  Bindelmann 
girl,  whom  she  had  joined  on  the  store  steps. 
They  came  directly  on,  the  scattered,  excited 
van — the  close-walking,  inner  shell  of  men 
with  the  prisoner — the  surging  rabble  along- 
side. Among  them  Alva  saw  the  two  guards 
of  the  night  before  and  the  black-bearded  man, 
and  at  the  prisoner's  shoulder  one  other  whose 
eyes  looked  full  into  hers  and  yet  did  not  seem 
to  see  her.  As  they  came  on,  she  could  hear 
the  men  around  the  prisoner  talking  among 
themselves : 

"Fifty  feet  of  half-inch  will  do." 

"Make  it  three-quarters.'' 

"Stop  here  till  he  gets  it." 

"Hustle  along,  Dan." 

Before  Alva  and  the  girl  could  shrink  back 
into  the  store,  the  crowd  engulfed  them.     A 


i6o  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

man  hurried  into  the  store,  taking  out  his 
pocketknife  as  he  went,  and  caUing  out  nerv- 
ously for  someone  to  wait  on  him.  Pressed 
close  together,  the  two  women  stared  into  each 
other's  eyes  and  clutched  hands. 

"I  can't  do  it,"  the  girl  whimpered.  ''Let 
him  find  it  himself!"  And  soon,  through  the 
silence,  came  the  ''rap-rap"  of  hard  new  rope 
on  the  floor  as  it  was  pulled  hastily  from  the 
reel. 

Hardly  six  feet  away  from  her,  the  prisoner 
stood  motionless  in  the  center  of  a  sibilant,  con- 
stantly moving  crowd,  that  seemed  all  open 
mouths  and  fascinated,  staring  eyes.  Alva 
stared  with  the  others  for  a  morbid  moment, 
then  tore  her  eyes  away  and  fastened  them  on 
the  man  beside  the  prisoner. 

Two  guilty  men.  One  in  handcuffs  and  one 
as  free  as  air.  One  to  go  and  one  to  stay. 
And  he  who  had  done  the  greater  wrong  was 
to  be  the  other's  executioner.  Alva  felt  that 
there  must  be  others  in  that  encircling  crowd 
who  knew  what  she  knew,  and  she  wondered  if 
they  saw  the  hideous  irony  of  it  all.  For  one 
agonizing  moment  she  felt  an  insane  impulse 
to  throw  restraint  to  the  winds  and  cry  out  at 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  i6i 

him — then  Randall's  gaze  shifted  to  hers,  and 
she  lost  courage. 

His  face  was  not  set  or  even  grim.  Instead, 
It  held  a  sanity  that  contrasted  so  sharply  with 
her  own  suffocating  emotions  that  she  felt  her- 
self pulled  down  to  earth  again.  In  some  in- 
explicable way,  the  thing  about  to  take  place 
immediately  became  a  necessity,  even  though 
he  was  in  control — even  though  he  was  cleverly 
making  justice  serve  his  own  ends.  Their 
eyes  met  once  more — his  cool  and  level,  hers 
hot  with  resentment — and  she  thought  she 
read  in  his  face  a  realization  of  his  great  good 
fortune.  Then  the  man  with  the  rope  came 
out  of  the  store,  and  the  crowd  moved  on. 

As  the  mob  streamed  away,  the  man  with 
the  rope  hurried  ahead  to  a  telegraph  pole  up 
the  street,  a  loose  end  of  the  yellow  hemp 
writhing  like  a  bright  serpent  through  the  dust 
of  the  road.  Here  he  carefully  estimated  the 
distance  to  the  crossbar  and  tossed  the  rope 
over  the  arm  with  a  cow-puncher's  sure  aim. 
Unable  to  bear  any  more,  Alva  put  her  arm 
around  the  Bindelmann  girFs  shoulder  and  led 
her  inside  the  store. 

Five  minutes  later  she  interrupted  the  girFs 


i62  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

soft  moaning  into  a  pink-and-green  comforter 
that  lay  on  the  counter : 

'^The  men  are  coming  back.  I  think  it's 
over/' 

''Don't  leave  me,"  implored  the  girl  from  the 
depths  of  the  comforter.  ''Did  you  see  the 
awful  look  on  his  face  when  they  took  him 
away  ?  I  won't  sleep  for  a  week.  Isn't  this  a 
simply  terrible  place!" 

"It's  no  place  for  you,  dear,"  Alva  answered. 
"Make  your  father  send  you  away." 

"I  guess  he'll  have  to.  I  ain't  very  used  to 
hangings,"  the  girl  replied. 

When  Alva  went  out  on  the  street  again, 
she  found  it  dotted  everywhere  with  men  in 
twos  and  threes,  although  a  good-sized  group 
still  stood  at  the  foot  of  the  pole.  Near  her, 
Randall  and  two  others  stood  with  their  backs 
turned  on  the  scene. 

As  Alva  hesitated,  wondering  if  he  would 
have  the  hardihood  to  speak  to  her  as  he  had 
done  the  day  before,  her  attention  was  drawn 
to  a  man  who  hurried  out  of  a  tent  with  a 
square  black  box  under  his  arm.  This  man 
ran  across  the  street  and  spoke  to  the  group 
around  the  pole.  To  Alva's  surprise,  she  saw 
that  the  rope  had  not  yet  been  taken  down,  and, 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  163 

as  she  looked,  several  men  came  out  of  the  cir- 
cle with  an  end  in  their  hands  and  began  to 
pull.  While  she  wondered  what  it  all  meant, 
the  man  from  the  tent  stepped  back  a  few  feet 
into  the  road  and  leveled  his  box  at  something 
on  the  end  of  the  rope,  which  was  rising, 
straight  and  stiff,  out  of  the  center  of  the 
crowd.  A  cry  of  horror  leaped  from  her  lips. 
They  were  drawing  the  dead  man  up  again  to 
take  his  photograph! 

No  sooner  had  she  cried  out,  than  she  felt 
the  rush  of  several  men  past  her — Randall  in 
front,  his  eyes  blazing,  his  face  convulsed  with 
anger.  Another  moment,  and  the  camera  was 
beaten  out  of  the  photographer's  hands,  and 
the  three  had  charged  headlong  into  the  men 
at  the  end  of  the  rope. 

As  if  by  magic,  the  saloons  and  tents  emptied 
again  into  the  street.  The  mob  took  form 
once  more,  no  longer  wordless  and  grim,  but 
this  time  an  angry,  swearing  rabble,  that 
jostled  and  kicked  and  struck.  A  roar  of 
voices  went  up  and  did  not  subside  even  when 
the  three  had  cut  their  way  savagely  into  the 
crowd  and  taken  possession  of  the  body.  Then 
Randall's  voice  rang  out  high  above  the  bel- 
lowing profanity. 


i64  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

"Go  on!  Keep  right  ahead!"  he  roared, 
shaking  his  fist  in  their  faces.  ''Disgrace  the 
camp  just  as  far  as  you  can!  Make  us  the 
mark  for  every  newspaper  in  the  whole  coun- 
try !  Even  then  you  won't  be  playing  as  mean 
a  trick  as  you  were  playing  on  this  fellow 
here!" 

A  growl  and  a  curse  answered  him.  A  fist 
shot  out  and  brushed  his  cheek.  Alva,  several 
yards  away,  could  hear  the  clean  smack  of 
Randall's  blow  as  he  planted  his  counter 
squarely  in  the  other's  face.  There  was  a 
surging  to  and  fro  inside  the  crowd  for  a  mo- 
ment— then  suddenly  the  attacker  popped  into 
view  like  a  pea  shelled  out  of  a  pod,  and 
sprawled  headlong  on  the  ground.  Scram- 
bling to  his  feet,  he  made  a  belligerent  show 
of  taking  off  his  coat  to  plunge  in  again.  But 
the  ridiculous  figure  he  cut  appealed  to  their 
sense  of  humor,  and  a  gale  of  laughter  was  his 
only  answer. 

The  crowd  began  to  scatter  for  a  second 
time,  and  Alva  turned  away  toward  her  tent. 
It  was  the  first  time  she  had  seen  this  man,  or 
any  man,  so  furiously  angry,  and,  in  spite  of 
everything,  she  thrilled  at  the  thought  of  how 
forcefully  he  had  backed  up  his  rebuke.     As 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  165 

she  passed  down  the  street  with  pale,  thought- 
ful face,  she  wondered  what  manner  of  man 
was  this  who  would  first  hang  a  criminal  and 
then  imperil  his  own  life  to  save  the  body  from 
insult. 

It  was  only  nine  o'clock  when  the  last  break- 
fast dish  had  been  dried  and  relaid  on  the 
table,  and  Alva  became  conscious  that  she  had 
been  working  with  feverish  rapidity.  In  spite 
of  her  share  in  the  tragedy,  her  presence  in 
the  dining-room  had  not  brought  forth  a  word 
of  either  criticism  or  sympathy.  Even  the 
black-bearded  man  had  failed  to  do  more  than 
recognize  her,  and  then  proceed  with  his  silent 
meal.     Evidently  Mrs.  Baker  had  been  right. 

But  in  spite  of  the  calm  that  had  come  over 
the  camp,  something  still  seemed  impending, 
or  else  it  was  the  ceaseless  throbbing  of  her 
tortured  nerves.  Only  nine  o'clock,  yet  it 
seemed  as  if  a  whole  year's  activities  had  been 
crowded  into  the  past  twelve  hours.  Alva's 
head  began  to  ache,  and  she  sank  down  in  a 
chair  near  the  kitchen  door. 

After  a  time  she  heard  a  step.  Raising  her 
head  with  an  effort,  she  saw  the  red-haired 
woman  known  as  ''Tiger  Lil"  regarding  her 
thoughtfully. 


i66  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

"You  look  all  in/'  the  woman  said. 

Alva  nodded,  and  tried  to  smile.  Somehow, 
since  last  night  the  gulf  between  them  seemed 
a  fraction  less  great. 

The  woman  questioned  her  mutely,  then 
seated  herself  on  the  doorstep.  She,  too, 
seemed  very  tired,  but  Alva  read  the  story 
of  heavy  drinking  in  her  constantly  twitching 
movements  and  bloodshot  eyes. 

The  woman  leaned  her  chin  on  her  hand 
and  stared  out  over  the  desert,  glittering  in 
the  heat. 

*T'm  thinking  about  Danny,"  she  said.  "It's 
about  time  they  did  something  for  him." 

Alva  wondered  for  a  moment,  then  sat  up 
in  her  chair. 

"Isn't  he  buried  yet  ?"  she  asked,  in  a  shocked 
voice. 

"He  is  not/'  was  the  answer.  "And,  what's 
more,  I  don't  know  who's  going  to  do  it,  either. 
The  Committee  is  having  a  meeting,  and  none 
of  the  other  men  will  bother  about  him,  they 
say.  Probably  they'll  let  it  go  till  they  get 
good  and  ready — then  dump  him  in." 

Alva  paled. 

"He  was  pretty  good  to  me,"  went  on  the 
woman.     "He  did  lots  of  odd  jobs  for  me — 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  167 

just  why  I  don't  know.  He  didn't  have  many 
friends  while  he  was  here,  the  poor,  old  bum, 
and  now  it  don't  look  like  he  had  any.  Nor 
even — nor  even  a  decent  suit  of  clothes  for  the 
grave."  She  stared  moodily  out  over  the  heat- 
hazed  plain,  and  her  brows  came  together  in 
a  sullen  frown.  "He's  going  to  lie  there  a 
long  time,"  she  said  heavily.     "It  isn't  right." 

Alva's  dark  eyes  grew  darker  and  larger. 
She  stood  up.  "Let  us  two  go  and  make  him 
ready  for  burial,"  she  said. 

And  so,  in  a  coat  room  in  the  rear  of  the 
Miners'  Hall,  where  the  body  had  lain  all  night 
covered  over  with  a  sheet  of  tar  paper,  the 
woman  from  the  East  and  the  woman  from 
Nowhere  labored  together  in  that  Christian 
service  which  woman's  compassion  has  im- 
pelled her  to  perform  since  the  dawn  of  civili- 
zation— and  before  it. 

"Danny  never  was  what  you'd  call  a  'swell 
dresser,' "  the  red-haired  woman  murmured, 
with  a  wry  face,  as  she  held  up  a  tattered  vest. 
"This  would  have  been  good  for  just  about  one 
da}''  more." 

A  battered  notebook  tumbled  from  a  pocket 
to  the  floor.  The  woman  took  it  up  and 
scanned  its  pages  curiously.     After  a  time  she 


i68  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

raised  her  eyes,  without  lifting  her  head,  and 
looked  stealthily  across  the  body  at  Alva. 
When  she  felt  sure  that  her  action  had  not 
been  noticed,  she  slipped  the  notebook  into  her 
dress  and  dropped  her  eyes  to  the  tattered  vest 
again.  And  their  swift  drooping  hid  the  light 
of  a  great  secret  discovered. 

'*ril  see  if  I  can  beg  some  clothes  from  the 
saloons,"  she  said  presently.  'Til  speak  to 
Andy,  too,  and  have  him  make  a  coffin,  and 
send  word  to  Randall  about  digging  a  grave." 
Then  the  knowledge  of  what  the  notebook  in- 
side her  waist  contained  led  her  to  try  a  sig- 
nificant remark:  ''Randall  ought  to  be  good 
at  graves  by  this  time.  They  say  he's  helped 
make  people  ready  for  'em  before." 

A  sudden  flash  lighted  up  Alva's  face.  The 
red-haired  woman  thought  it  was  anger,  and 
turned  away  before  anything  could  be  said,  a 
faint  smile  curling  her  already  curled  lips. 

Later  in  the  morning,  Andy,  the  carpenter, 
grave- faced  for  once,  came  and  took  his  meas- 
urements and  departed  again,  after  expressing 
himself  vividly  as  to  the  Committee's  laxity, 
and  after  a  time  the  red-haired  woman  re- 
turned, bringing  a  suit  of  clothes  and  a  clean 
shirt.     During  the  remainder  of  their  task. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  169 

Alva  felt  more  than  ever  depressed,  for  the 
securing  of  Danny's  clothes  had  been  conducted 
under  alcoholic  stimulus. 

"FuneraFs  at  four  o'clock/'  the  woman  said 
thickly  when  they  parted.  'They're  going  to 
send  a  couple  of  miners  to  dig  a  grave,  but 
we'll  have  to  get  Andy's  wagon  ourselves,  I 
guess.  But  we'll  bury  him  good  and  proper, 
won't  we,  sis  ?" 

"We'll  do  our  best,"  Alva  answered  wearily; 
and  then,  with  a  cry  of  despair :  **I  wonder  if 
there's  another  place  in  all  the  world  like  this !" 

Shortly  before  the  funeral,  Mrs.  Baker,  who 
had  bundled  her  Mormon  friends  off  on  the 
afternoon  stage,  came  and  reproached  her. 

"You're  certainly  terribly  one-ideaed  now- 
adays, Alva,"  she  said.  "You  don't  seem  to 
look  around  for  anything  any  more.  You  just 
plunge  right  ahead  as  if  something  was  chasing 
you.  People  don't  ever  have  to  do  these  things 
alone.     Why  didn't  you  let  me  help?" 

"I  wasn't  alone,"  Alva  answered,  and  the 
soft  light  in  her  eyes  showed  a  saddened  under- 
standing and  a  new  toleration.  "Tiger  Lil  was 
the  one  who  thought  of  it.  I  was  only  her 
helper,  Amelia." 

Four  o'clock  came,  and  the  wagon  from  the 


I70  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

lumber  yard  pulled  up  at  the  back  door  of  the 
hall.  The  red-haired  woman  looked  down 
from  her  seat  on  the  box  beside  the  silent  Andy. 

"They're  coming  now  to  load  him  in,  and 
some  are  coming  to  the  burying,  too.  I  roasted 
'em  to  a  finish  down  at  the  Green  Front  and 
the  Red  Onion,"  she  added  exultantly.  "I 
guess  they  know  now  how  we  women  feel  about 
a  decent  burial.  Has  anybody  got  a  Bible,  or 
anything?" 

Alva  looked  hopefully  at  Mrs.  Baker. 

"Well,  now,  I  kinda  think  I  have,"  that  lady 
murmured  thoughtfully.  "I  believe  I  saw 
something  religious  sticking  around  in  the  office 
only  yesterday.  You  folks  hustle  along  and 
ril  run  home  and  look.  But  don't  you  go 
to  burying  too  fast." 

With  the  rough  pine  box  lifted  into  the 
wagon,  Alva  and  the  red-haired  woman  walked 
up  the  hill  together  toward  the  graveyard. 
Some  distance  in  their  rear  a  dozen  men  fol- 
lowed in  casual  fashion  through  the  sagebrush, 
as  if  they  would  finally  arrive  at  the  funeral 
quite  by  accident. 

The  other  woman  looked  back  several  times 
as  they  went  on,  and,  when  she  spoke,  Alva 
seemed  to  know  what  would  be  said. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  171 

''Randall  will  be  there,  anyhow,"  the  woman 
remarked,  in  pleased  tones.  "He  promised 
he'd  come,  and  that  means  he  will.  He's  com- 
ing off  shift  now — I  can  see  him  on  the  trail. 
I  hope  there's  singing,  don't  you?"  she  added 
wistfully.  "Anyway,  just  one  song  wouldn't 
hurt." 

As  they  neared  the  cemetery,  they  heard  the 
sound  of  hammer  on  steel,  and  saw  two  miners 
at  work. 

"Better  not  come  much  closeter  with  that 
young  mare  of  yours,  Andy,"  they  called. 

"What's  the  grief?"  asked  Andy,  undis- 
turbed, and  set  his  brake. 

"We've  struck  some  of  this  d d  hardpan 

about  two  foot  down,  that's  what's  the  matter. 
Danny  won't  have  any  more  grave  than  a  jack- 
rabbit  if  we  don't  loosen  her  up  with  a  little 
black  powder.  Hang  on  to  your  horse,  Andy. 
Bill  will  be  spitting  his  fuse  soon." 

As  they  waited,  waist-deep  in  the  brush,  the 
men  behind  came  up  and  stood  in  an  apprecia- 
tive semicircle,  seizing  the  opportunity  to  roll 
a  cigarette  and  criticise  the  miners'  judgment 
with  gentle  humor.  Overhead,  the  sun  blazed 
like  the  mouth  of  a  furnace.  Around  them, 
the  fine  desert  dust  rose  up  in  a  sage-em- 


172  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

bittered    cloud    that    seemed    both    to    choke 
and  cut. 

One  of  the  miners  sat  half  in  the  grave,  hold- 
ing a  drill  on  which  the  other  swung  down  with 
a  practiced  hand.  Blow  after  blow  came  down 
in  machine-like  rotation  until  Alva  felt  like 
throwing  up  her  hands  and  shrieking.  A  mo- 
ment to  load  the  shallow  hole  and  light  the  fuse, 
and  the  two*  men  came  back,  not  without  caustic 
remarks  as  to  the  hardness  of  the  ground. 

Boom!  A  gentle  rain  of  dirt  fell  around — 
Andy's  mare  danced — the  men  walked  forward 
and  critically  inspected  the  hole — the  women 
followed,  and  the  burial  began. 

While  the  coffin  was  being  lowered  into  the 
grave,  Alva's  eyes  sought  those  around  her. 
At  the  end  farthest  from  her,  Randall  stood, 
hat  in  hand  and  silent.  He  looked  grim  and 
very  tired.  H  his  eyes  were  on  her  at  any  time, 
she  did  not  notice  it,  for  he  seemed  to  be  only 
staring  down  at  the  yellow  box.  If  he  were 
thinking  of  Danny,  she  thought,  he  must  be 
realizing  that  in  his  time  of  peril  he  had  found, 
as  one  always  finds,  the  least  expected  friend. 

They  looked  around  at  one  another — miners, 
gamblers,  vagrants,  clerks  from  the  stores,  the 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  173 

three  women — and  there  was  a  question  in  their 
eyes.     Then  Mrs.  Baker  came  to  the  front. 

''We  ought  to  say  something  about  this  poor 
fellow,  I  reckon,"  she  said,  in  a  faintly  quaver- 
ing voice,  ''and,  being  it's  Sunday,  anyway,  Td 
like  to  read  this  yere  Sunday-school  leaflet  that 
I  located  up  to  the  shack.  But  I  dunno.  It's 
all  about  the  children  of  Israel  adventuring 
round  in  a  desert  like  this  one  here,  where  it 
was  awful  hot  and  dry  and  sandy ;  and  because 
they  grumbled  some,  God  sent  a  lot  of  serpents 
to  bite  'em.  Probably  that's  meant  paregori- 
cally,  and  shouldn't  be  took  too  much  in  earn- 
est, because  we  know  very  well  that  God 
wouldn't  do  any  such  mean  trick  nowadays. 
But  it  all  goes  to  show  that  we  ain't  the  only 
ones  playing  in  hard  luck  in  deserts,  and  it 
don't  do  for  even  a  fellow  like  Danny  to  grum- 
ble. I  don't  say  we'd  get  snakes  set  onto  us  if 
we  did,  but  I  guess  Danny  saw  quite  a  few  in 
his  time,  and  if  he  was  here,  he'd  tell  us  to  be 
more  careful.  That's  all.  I'd  read  the  leaflet 
through,  only  we  couldn't  answer  the  questions 
on  the  back,  and  it  ain't  the  second  Sunday 
after  Epiphany,  anyhow." 

When  Mrs.  Baker  had  ended,  much  to  her 


174  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

relief  and  Alva's,  Randall  seemed  to  rouse  him- 
self from  his  brown  study.  The  man's  eyes 
grew  strong  and  clear,  and  seemed  to  take  in 
the  whole  group. 

''It  isn't  up  to  any  of  us  to  preach  a  sermon," 
he  said,  "but  I  guess  most  of  us  believe  in  God 
and  the  square  deal,  and  will  agree  that  it's 
good  for  us  to  come  here  and  do  the  right  thing 
when  a  man  is  passing  out. 

"As  everybody  knows,  this  man  Danny  was 
pretty  unfortunate.  He  had  a  bad  appetite  and 
a  poor  sort  of  a  body  to  justify  any  kind  of  an 
appetite,  and  a  weak-kneed  mind  to  control 
both  of  them.  Just  to  make  things  worse,  he 
hadn't  any  friends.  Probably  a  man  like  that 
looks  to  be  in  a  bad  way. 

"But  a  man  often  has  friends  scattered 
around  that  he  hasn't  been  counting  on.  This 
man  was  my  friend,  although  I  didn't  know  it 
at  the  time.  It  makes  me  wish  mighty  hard 
that  I'd  been  a  better  friend  to  him, 

"Now,  as  I  said,  Danny  wasn't  what  we'd 
call  an  awful  lot  as  we  figure  it,  out  here,  but 
still  there  was  something  about  him  that 
brought  us  all  out  here  to  say  'good-by,'  and 
that  is  what  is  going  to  do  us  good.  If  Danny 
didn't  have  any  friends  yesterday  and  yet  has 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  175 

all  these  to-day,  we  can  all  be  mighty  sure  that 
there's  a  chance  for  all  of  us,  no  matter  who 
we  are,  or  how  mean  and  yellow  we've  seemed 
to  others.     We've  always  got  a  Friend." 

The  red-haired  woman's  hand  tightened  con- 
vulsively on  Alva's. 

"He's  right!  He's  right!"  she  whispered, 
while  her  eyes  stared  out  at  what  Alva  hoped 
was  the  truth  at  last.  ^'Everybody's  got  a 
chance — if  they'll  only  take  it.  0-h-h-h!  I 
want  to  singT 

''SingT  Alva  said  to  Mrs.  Baker. 

As  if  she  were  some  kind  of  a  mechanical 
doll  that  responded  to  the  touch,  Mrs.  Baker's 
lips  parted,  and  the  first  words  of  a  hymn  that 
all  civilization  knows  came  forth  in  a  throaty 
tremolo.  By  the  time  the  second  line  was 
reached,  Alva  was  singing  with  her,  while  a 
faint  accompanying  murmur  began  behind 
them.  But  Alva  soon  found  her  own  voice 
lowering,  while  she  listened  to  a  clearer, 
stronger  voice  beside  her. 

From  Nome  to  the  Needles  and  from  Grass 
Valley  to  Cripple  Creek  there  is  a  voice  that 
rises  above  the  uproar  of  the  saloon  both  by 
day  and  by  night — one  sound  that  seems  for- 
ever ringing  out  above  the  ceaseless  roll  of  the 


176  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

roulette  ball  and  the  bellowing  at  the  bar. 
Though  other  sounds  may  come  to  deaden  it — 
laughter,  the  gride  of  boots,  the  muttered  be- 
ginnings of  a  quarrel,  a  curse,  a  blow,  a  fall — 
yet  before  the  roar  of  the  boom-camp  night 
rolls  up  again,  there  always  comes  the  sound 
of  a  woman  singing,  and  the  wild  strain  mocks 
at  life  and  death  as  well. 

But  the  voice  beside  Alva  took  only  a  note 
or  two  before  it  shook  itself  free  from  the 
twang  of  the  halls  and  gushed  forth  in  uncon- 
taminated  beauty.  Higher  and  higher  it 
soared,  like  a  free-winged  bird  in  flight,  until 
the  others  grew  silent  and  only  one  voice  was 
left  to  sing  Danny's  funeral  hymn.  And  as 
the  wonderful  sounds  came  forth  from  the 
woman's  throat,  Alva  followed  her  eyes  and 
saw  why  she  had  wanted  to  sing.  Once  more 
the  verse  began,  and  this  time  with  a  strain  so 
poignant  that  the  man's  heavy  eyelids  rose, 
and  she  saw  that  he,  also,  knew. 

Alva  felt  a  sharp  pang  go  through  her.  In 
spite  of  their  surroundings  her  eyes  were  in- 
stantly riveted  on  the  two,  searching,  question- 
ing, testing.  But  even  her  oversuspicious  eyes 
could  read  nothing  in  the  man's  face  except  a 
sort  of  shamed  understanding.     Then  his  look 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  177 

shifted  to  Alva,  and  he  reddened,  for  he  was 
seeing  her  for  the  first  time. 

The  voice  beside  her  quavered  and  faltered. 
Little  by  little  the  sweetness  died  out  of  its 
tones.  Volume  and  clearness  were  there,  but 
that  was  all.  But  the  woman  still  sang  on,  for 
the  blessed  knowledge  she  had  gained  to-day 
would  be  hers  always.  There  would  be  a 
chance  for  every  one,  some  day. 

There  was  a  silence,  followed  by  the  rattle 
of  earth  on  the  box,  and  then  the  group  broke 
up,  spreading  out  in  various  directions  toward 
the  town.  The  red-haired  woman  walked 
among  the  first,  head  down  and  thoughtful. 
Alva  made  haste  to  overtake  her,  but  soon  saw 
that  several  men  were  following,  and  so  drew 
back.  For  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  something  in 
the  red-haired  woman's  manner  held  them  off. 
Then  she  threw  back  her  head  with  a  wild  laugh 
and  the  men  took  heart.  When  Alva  raised 
her  eyes  again  from  the  ground,  Randall  was 
walking  beside  her. 

In  all  the  days  since  Alva  Leigh  had  first  de- 
termined to  discover  Donald  Jaffray's  mur- 
derer, she  had  never  felt  so  lacking  in  power 
of  judgment.  One  after  another  the  events  of 
the  past  twenty-four  hours  flashed  through  her 


178  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

mind,  and  yet,  when  all  had  passed,  she  found 
herself  looking  silently,  helplessly  up  into  his 
eyes,  and  wondering  if  she  would  ever  know  the 
truth. 

The  man  was  very  grave.  Alva  knew  that 
he  was  about  to  speak  to  her  about  himself. 
The  tightened  look  around  his  lips  told  her  that 
a  definite  understanding  was  not  far  off. 

''I  want  to  tell  you  that  it  was  mighty  fine 
of  you  to  look  after  Danny,"  he  said.  "But 
I've  always  known  that  you  would  do  that  sort 
of  thing." 

''How  did  you  know  it?"  she  asked  dispas- 
sionately. 

''Because  you're  that  kind  of  a  woman,"  he 
answered  simply.  ''You're  a  woman  with 
strong  likes  and  hates.  You're  a  woman  with 
a  foundation.  When  a  thing  is  right  for  you 
to  do,  you  do  it,  no  matter  how  much  it  hurts. 
Of  course,  you  might  hurt  other  people  while 
you  were  doing  it,  but  because  you  are  that  kind 
of  a  woman,  you'd  go  just  as  far  the  other  way 
to  help  them  as  soon  as  you  found  that  you 
were  wrong.  You  are  a  woman  whose  mind 
deals  in  big  things  first,  and  you'd  go  through 
hell  fire  to  do  them." 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  179 

"You  are  wonderfully  clear-sighted/'  she 
said,  with  cold  irony.  ''Suppose  we  drop  the 
subject/' 

''Yes.  We'll  drop  it  now/'  he  answered. 
"Because  I've  something  to  say  to  you." 

Alva  stopped  short  at  the  door  of  her  tent 
and  faced  him  squarely.  Was  he  going  to  be 
so  utterly  foolish  as  to  ask  her  to  marry  him  ? 

''We've  found  the  Gun  Sight  Mine!"  he  said. 
'Tm  pulling  out  in  the  morning  T 

Alva's  face  fell.  She  stepped  back,  with  a 
gasp. 

"In  the  morning r  she  repeated. 

"As  early  as  I  can.  There  are  some  things 
here  that  I  must  clear  up  first.  To-morrow 
noon  ni  be  at  Furnace  Creek.  Probably  I'll 
be  halfway  across  the  Valley  by  evening." 

He  waited  a  moment  longer,  for  he  saw  that 
she  was  upset — then  came  close  to  her  and  took 
her  hand  in  his,  although  he  did  not  raise  it 
from  her  side. 

"Alva,"  he  said  gently,  "the  time  has  come, 
now.  You're  the  woman  I  want.  I  must  go 
away  to-morrow,  and  it  may  be  weeks  or 
months  before  I'm  back,  and  so  I  want  you  to 
know  that  you're  the  only  woman  that  I've  ever 


i8o  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

wanted  as  soon  as  I  saw  her — and  before  that. 
You're  the  woman  who  can  have  every  bit  of 
me  from  now  until  I  die. 

**IVe  tried  hard  to  keep  from  teUing  you,  be- 
cause I  wanted  to  wait  until  I  made  my  big 
stake,  but  I  couldn't  stand  it.  And  I  guess  the 
love  I  have  for  you  isn't  such  a  puny  thing  but 
what  it  will  bear  a  little  talking  about. 

"We  aren't  boy  and  girl,  you  and  I.  Folks 
have  said  at  times  that  I  seemed  like  I  was  full 
grown,  but  there  never  has  been  any  doubt 
about  you.  You  are  a  real  woman — a  big, 
strong,  lovable  woman,  without  any  foolish- 
ness, and  if  you'll  let  me  come  into  your  life, 
I'll  promise  not  to  make  it  any  smaller  than  I 
can  help.  I've  known  just  exactly  what  you 
were  like  ever  since — " 

"Since  when  ?"  she  asked,  without  withdraw- 
ing her  hand  or  raising  her  eyes. 

"Since  I  first  saw  your  face,"  he  answered, 
with  a  quiver  in  his  voice.  "Do  you  remember 
the  night  when  I  found  you  on  the  desert  ?" 

She  moved  her  head  in  silent  assent,  and  still 
did  not  take  her  hand  away. 

"I  saw  then  that  my  work  was  cut  out  for 
me,"  he  said.  "But  I  was  glad  of  it.  For 
you're  enough  to  make  a  man  work  harder  than 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  i8i 

he  ever  worked  before — and  enough  to  keep 
him  straighter/' 

*'Yes/'  she  said,  with  a  colorless  intonation. 

"Yes,  Alva,  that  is  so,"  he  responded,  with  a 
sharp  breath,  for  he  saw  that  his  work  was  still 
laid  out  for  him.  "And  I  have  done  it. 
But  I'm  not  wanting  to  talk  to  you  about  my- 
self. All  I  want  to  tell  you  is  what  I  hope  to 
do  with  my  life  for  you,  and  why  Tm  going  to 
do  it. 

"I'm  wanting  to  give  you  everything  I  can 
get.  I  want  you  to  go  along  in  life  with  me 
and  grow  so  fast  and  so  fine  that  no  one  can 
touch  you.  You've  got  it  in  you  to  be  a  big, 
fine  woman.  You're  that  now — in  Magnet — 
but  I'm  talking  about  anywhere  in  the  world 
that  we  might  ever  go.  I'd  love  you,  anyway, 
as  much  as  a  woman  could  be  loved,  I  reckon, 
but  I'll  be  loving  you  even  more,  then.  It  isn't 
going  to  take  anything  more  than  happiness  to 
make  you  the  finest  woman  in  all  outdoors — 
and  if  you'll  love  me  for  thinking  so,  and  work- 
ing all  the  time  to  make  you  more  so,  that  will 
be  all  I'll  want.'^ 

He  paused  for  a  moment,  and  then  spoke 
even  more  gently  and  humbly  than  before : 

"Have  you  anything  to  say  to  me,  Alva?" 


i82  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

Gradually  the  woman  drew  away  and  gath- 
ered herself  together.  There  are  times  in  life 
when  the  innumerable  things  that  do  not  matter 
fall  away  like  a  cast-off  garment,  and  only  the 
essentials  remain.  This  was  one  of  those  in- 
frequent moments,  and  the  weight  of  that 
knowledge  lay  heavy  and  forceful  in  the 
woman's  somber  eyes.  Most  of  all,  it  affected 
her  voice,  toning  it  down  to  a  deep  note  that 
told  him,  with  her  first  words,  that  his  fate 
would  be  decided  for  all  time  then  and  there. 

Yet  there  was  one  thing  that  gave  him  hope, 
even  if  his  case  should,  seemingly,  be  lost.  She 
was  too  somber.  The  moment  had  become  too 
gravid  with  fate.  There  was  something  wrong 
— as  he  had  known  before. 

She  took  a  full  breath  and  faced  him. 

''Mr.  Randall,''  she  said  steadily,  "you  are 
asking  me  to  do  something  that  is  absolutely 
impossible.  I  know  that  you  mean  all  you  say, 
and  so  I  tell  you,  with  the  same  frankness,  that 
I  cannot  share  your  feelings. 

"Apart  from  everything  else,  my  reason  is 
that  I  can't  understand  you.  Either  you  are  a 
good  man,  or  a  very  wicked  one.  If  I  were 
sure  which  you  were,  I'd  tell  you  so  immedi- 
ately.    Since  I've  come  to  Magnet,  you've  done 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  183 

a  great  many  kind  things  for  me — things  that 
only  a  fine,  strong,  splendid  man  would  do — 
as  you  did  them.  On  the  other  hand,  you  have, 
apparently,  done  other  things  in  your  life  that 
even  a  devil  wouldn't  do/' 

"A  devil!"  he  murmured,  astounded.  The 
look  he  shot  at  her  was  almost  one  of  fright. 

'Terhaps  there  are  reasons  why  I  should 
want  to  know  precisely  what  you  are,  and  per- 
haps, after  all,  it  makes  no  difference.  You 
say  you  are  going  away  in  the  morning.  This 
much  I  will  tell  you,  then:  You  will  not  find 
me  here  when  you  return. 

**YouVe  come  into  my  life  just  as  I  would 
have  the  man  I  might  love  come  into  it — fear- 
less, strong,  and  tender.  You  go  out  of  my 
life  just  as  fearless  and  strong,  because  that 
much  I  see  in  you ;  but  as  far  as  the  rest  of  you 
IS  concerned,  you  are  a  mystery. 

"I  remember  that  first  night  on  the  desert  as 
well  as  you  do.  I  knew  then  that  you'd  either 
be  my  friend  or  someone  whom  I  would  never 
want  to  see  again.  If  I  only  knew  which  one 
it  would  finally  prove  to  be — if  proof  there  is" 
— and  her  eyes  suddenly  blazed  into  his — "you 
may  rest  assured  that  I  would  tell  you." 

"I  know  that,"  he  answered  calmly,  though 


i84  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

a  little  pale.  'That's  why  I  tell  you  that  I  love 
you — because  you're  that  kind.  I'm  glad  you 
think  I've  helped  you  a  little.  You've  helped 
me  a  great  deal  more  than  that.  But  I  can't 
follow  you  when  you  say  that  it  is  I,  perhaps, 
that  has  hurt  you.  Furthermore,  Fm  not  going 
to  ask  you  what  it  is  you  think,  I  tell  you 
again  that  I  love  you,  and  you  must  take  me  or 
leave  me  on  what  I  am.  I  may  have  a  defense, 
and  I  may  not — it  makes  no  difference.  You'll 
not  know  it  from  me!" 

Alva  never  took  her  eyes  off  his. 

"You  take  a  high  ground,"  she  said  haugh- 
tily. "Also,  you  presuppose  that  I  love  you. 
You're  wrong.  I  care  nothing  for  you.  I  care 
only  for  one  thing." 

"And  I,"  he  answered.     "My  self-respect." 

Alva's  eyes  wavered. 

"Why  are  we  talking?"  she  asked  wearily. 
"What  can  you  gain  ?" 

"Your  remembrance  of  what  I've  said,"  he 
answered  very  gently.  "Because  these  beliefs 
of  yours  about  me  will  pass  away.  When  that 
day  comes,  I  want  my  love  for  you  to  be  stand- 
ing there,  waiting.  I'll  have  to  stick  it  out  till 
then,  I  guess — ^but  it  will  be  worth  while. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  185 

"ril  be  going  in  the  morning  before  you're 
up.  It  may  be  a  long  time  before  I  see  you 
again — ^between  where  I  have  to  go  and  where 
you  can  go — but  that  doesn't  worry  me  much. 
No  matter  where  you  go  from  here,  Til  find 
you." 

"You  will  not,"  she  stated,  as  cold  as  a  stone. 

"I  will/'  came  back  the  answer.  ''Because 
you  will  help  me  do  it" 

Alva  felt  a  suffocation  rising  in  her  throat. 
The  irresistible  forcefulness  of  his  tones  beat 
on  her  mind,  and  robbed  her  of  her  power  to 
think.  She  wished,  frantically,  that  he  would 
go  away,  or  cease  talking,  or  that  she  could  stop 
the  endless  whirling  of  her  mind,  or  crush  him 
with  some  unanswerable  retort.  But  none  of 
these  things  happened,  and  she  felt  her  grip  on 
herself  swiftly  loosening. 

Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  her  weakness,  a  re- 
viving thought  came  to  her. 

"When  do  you  go?"  she  asked  hurriedly,  and 
resolved  to  bring  things  to  a  head  that  very 
night.  If  there  were  time  enough,  luck  might 
be  with  her  yet. 

His  hand  strayed  toward  his  watch.  He 
took  it  from  his  pocket  and  held  it,  unopened. 


i86  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

in  his  hand,  while  his  lips  moved  in  a  silent  cal- 
culation as  to  what  he  must  do  before  the  hour 
of  his  departure. 

"IVe  got  to  clean  up  some  business  at  the 
Local  office,  and  get  my  stuff  together.  That 
will  make  it  about  three  in  the  morning.  Pack- 
ing the  burros  and  all  that  will  take  an  hour 
more.     Probably  I'll  pull  out  about  sun-up." 

He  turned,  at  a  faint  breath-catching  sound, 
and  saw  her  grown  ghastly  white.  Her  eyes 
were  fixed  on  the  heavy-cased  gold  watch  in 
his  hand,  and  she  was  swaying  to  and  fro,  her 
throat  choked  with  unintelligible  attempts  to 
speak.  Then  she  fainted  dead  away  in  his 
arms. 

It  was  a  moment  or  two  before  the  man  real- 
ized what  had  happened,  and  for  a  little  while 
he  held  her  clutched  in  his  arms,  frightened  by 
the  silent,  white  face  crushed  against  his  breast. 
To  anyone  passing  at  the  time,  it  would 
have  seemed  the  perfect  moment  of  love's  con- 
fession. 

And,  as  it  happened,  someone  did  see  them 
and  misread  them  in  that  very  way,  and  stood 
there  in  the  sagebrush  at  the  corner  of  the  tent 
with  her  washed-out  blue  eyes  dark  with  hate. 
Then,  having  seen  at  last  what  her  growing 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  187 

despair  had  told  her  would  surely  come  to  pass, 
the  red-haired  woman  reeled  away  with  a  bale- 
ful face  to  the  hell  from  which  she  had  come. 

When  Alva  came  to  her  senses,  she  was  on 
her  bed  in  her  tent,  with  Mrs.  Baker's  anxious 
face  bending  over  her. 

"It's  all  right  now,  Alvie,  dear,"  the  woman 
was  saying.  "Just  you  lie  quiet  and  pull  your- 
self together.  You  fainted,  that's  all,"  she 
went  on,  in  response  to  the  query  in  Alva's 
eyes.  "Dick  Randall  brought  you  in  here  and 
sent  for  me.  He  was  the  scaredest  white  man 
I  ever  saw." 

Alva  lay  still,  striving  to  collect  her  thoughts. 
Why  had  she  fainted  ?  She  knew  she  had  been 
frightfully  tired  and  nervous,  but  that  condi- 
tion alone  could  never  account  for  such  a  sud- 
den collapse.  As  if  in  corroboration,  her  grop- 
ings  encountered  the  vague  bulk  of  a  remem- 
brance which,  she  felt,  must  contain  the  real 
reason — if  she  could  only  make  it  take  form. 

As  the  older  woman  sat  down  on  the  edge 
of  the  bed  and  began  to  stroke  her  hand,  Alva 
suddenly  turned  her  face  down  in  the  pillow 
with  a  moan.  She  had  remembered.  The 
watch  she  had  seen  in  his  hand!     The  mono- 


i88  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

grammed  watch  she  had  given  Donald  years 
before ! 

*What  is  the  matter,  dearie?''  the  other 
woman  cried,  appalled.  'Tell  me  your  trouble, 
Alva.  YouVe  been  carrying  this  thing  that 
bothers  you  too  long!"  She  hesitated,  then 
leaned  over  the  face  hidden  deep  in  the  pillow. 
"I  know  he's  going  far  away,"  she  whispered 
kindly.  ''Don't  be  afraid  to  tell  me  how  you 
feel.  Maybe  I  can  set  it  right.  Men  are  such 
blistering  fools !" 

Alva  stiffened  all  through  her  body.  Then, 
as  her  disgust  served  to  help  her  collect  herself, 
she  raised  her  head  and  sat  up,  a  look  of  utter 
finality  on  her  face. 

"Amelia,"  she  said  carefully,  for  even  that 
faithful  friend  must  never  know  her  secret,  "if 
you  have  any  idea  that  there  is  anything  be- 
tween that  man  and  myself,  I  ask  you  to  put 
it  out  of  your  mind.  When  I  came  to  this 
place,  it  was  not  in  search  of  a  business  in 
which  to  make  money  or  even  to  look  for  a  hus- 
band. You've  never  asked  me  why  I  came, 
and  I'm  glad  you  didn't,  because  I  like  you  too 
well  to  tell  you  an  untruth.  As  things  are  now, 
it's  possible  that  I  may  have  to  go  away  from 
Magnet  just  as  I  came — without  saying  why. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  189 

But  I  want  you  to  remember  all  your  life  that 
there  is  someone  who  thanks  you  from  the 
bottom  of  her  heart  for  all  that  you  did  for 
her,  without  asking  the  questions  that  you 
might  have  asked." 

'Why — I  never  did  anything,  Alvie,"  the 
other  wailed.  *'A11  I  wanted  was  to  see  you 
settle  down  right  with  a  good  man  for  a  hus- 
band.    And  I  kinda  thought,  you  know — " 

'Tlease  don't,  Amelia.  It  won't  help  things 
one  bit.     I  shall  never  marry  anyone." 

"But  you  meant  to,  once,  didn't  you?"  per- 
sisted Mrs.  Baker,  with  gentle  objection.  ''I 
don't  see  how  you  knew  about  Magnet  if  you 
didn't  know  some  man  out  here.  And  if  the 
man  wrote  you  letters  back  East,  why,  then, 
you  must  have  been  thinking  of  him  that  way." 

Alva  stared.  How  did  Mrs.  Baker  know 
that  anyone  had  written  letters  to  her  from 
Magnet? 

''You  say  I've  done  a  lot  for  you,  dearie," 
the  older  woman  went  on,  in  a  voice  that  trem- 
bled on  the  verge  of  tears,  "but  I  dunno,  after 
all.  Mebbe  I've  mullixed  things  up  worse  than 
ever  I  thought.  There  ain't  a  whole  lot  for 
a  woman  to  do  out  here,  and  when  you  came,  I 
hoped  you'd  let  me  have  a  little  private  excite- 


I90  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

ment,  marrying  you  off  to  some  nice  man." 

The  woman's  eyes  fell  before  Alva's  puzzled 
look,  and  her  hand  picked  at  the  bedclothes. 
Her  face  took  on  a  strange  abjectness. 

"I  shouldn't  have  did  it,  I  know — but  I  did 
want  to  see  you  marry  Randall,  and  so  a  while 
back  I  played  a  mean  trick  on  you.  Maybe  it 
was  worse  than  mean — I  never  stopped  to 
think.  But  you're  so  terrible  in  earnest  about 
everything  that  I  can  see  now  that  perhaps — 
perhaps  I  made  an  awful  mistake." 

The  woman  broke  off  and  began  to  whimper. 

"I  did  something  pretty  bad,  I  guess.  I 
could  go  right  smack  into  jail  for  it,  Baker 
says — only — I've  still  got  the  letter T 

'What  letter?"  cried  Alva. 

"A  letter  a  man  wrote  you  long  ago  from 
here,"  Mrs.  Baker  wailed.  "'Way  last  winter 
— a  month  before  you  came.  It  got  post- 
marked, all  right,  and  then  it  must  have  slipped 
down  between  the  end  of  the  flooring  and  the 
wall  up  to  the  post  office,  becuz  when  I  went  to 
clean  out  a  family  of  more  than  twenty  trade 
rats  under  the  floor  last  May,  I  found  it  there. 
I  should  have  given  it  to  you  then" — she  sobbed, 
while  hot  tears  of  remorse  rolled  down  her 
plump  cheeks — "but  I  figured  it  was  from  some 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  191 

fellow  that  had  gone  away,  and  I  didn't  want 
him  to  find  you  again.  Oh,  I  can  see  now  that 
I  made  a  terrible  mistake!  I  see  now  that  I 
shouldn't  have  did  it,  becuz  that's  what  you 
came  here  for,  all  right — and  there  I  went  and 
interfered.  As  soon  as  I  saw  there  was  no 
friend  of  yours  here,  I  thought — I  thought  it 
wouldn't  make  any  difference — so  long  as  he'd 
gone  away.  And  now — and  now  maybe  he's 
gone  for  good,  and  you  won't  ever  see  him  any 
more." 

Listening  to  this  strange  story,  Alva  felt  her- 
self undergoing  a  great  change.  Things  began 
to  quiet  down  inside  her.  She  knew  who  had 
written  the  letter,  and,  since  it  was  still  in  ex- 
istence, she  had  time  to  pity  the  other's  grief 
and  shame. 

''Amelia,"  she  said,  while  her  softened  eyes 
glowed  with  love  for  her  well-meaning  friend, 
''it's  quite  true  that  I'll  never  again  see  the  man 
who  wrote  that  letter,  but  even  if  you'd  given 
it  to  me  five  minutes  after  it  was  found,  I  doubt 
if  it  would  have  made  any  difference." 

"0-h-h-h!  Thank  Heaven!"  sobbed  the 
other.  "But  you  can  tell  everybody  right  out 
what  I  did,  if  you  want.  I'd  just  as  lieve  go  to 
jail,  you  know." 


192  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

*'No/'  answered  Alva,  while  she  helped  dry 
the  tears.  ''You  were  just  as  honest  then  as 
you  are  now.  You  were  trying  to  help  me, 
Amelia — so  it  doesn't  matter.  Have  you  the 
letter?'' 

Mrs.  Baker  hunted  lachrymosely  for  her 
pocket. 

''After  I  give  it  to  you,  Fm  going  right 
straight  home,"  she  said.  "It  don't  seem  like 
I  could  ever  look  you  in  the  face  again.  I 
keep  thinking  about  that  poor  fellow  that  might 
have  needed  you  all  this  time.  Anyhow,  I  can 
say  for  Randall  that  he  didn't  know.  He'd 
have  made  me  give  it  right  up." 

"I'm  not  so  sure,"  was  the  reply  that  followed 
Mrs.  Baker  to  the  door. 

At  nine  o'clock  that  night,  when  everything 
had  been  cleared  away,  Alva  locked  her  doors 
and  sat  down  to  read  her  letter. 

For  a  long  time  she  held  it,  unopened,  in  her 
lap,  studying  the  postmark  and  the  address. 
His  last  letter — written  February  ist — nine 
days  before  he  was  shot!  What  might  it  not 
contain?  The  one  previous  to  this  had  been 
written  several  months  before,  and  had  spoken 
only  briefly  about  his  claim  and  his  new  hopes. 
What  would  she  find  in  this  ?     Would  it  be  like 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  193 

the  dear  letters  of  earlier  years,  page  on  page 
of  love  and  living  optimism?  Would  it  show 
him  trembling  on  the  verge  of  success? 
Would  it  bring  her  the  one  thing  for  which, 
even  now,  she  would  give  anything  she 
possessed — the  command  to  come  and  join  him  ? 
She  thought,  as  she  tore  the  letter  open,  that 
life  would  be  almost  bright  again  if  she  could 
find  merely  that  one  word — ''Come !"  As  she 
raised  the  first  sheet  to  read,  her  trust  was  di- 
minished in  no  way  by  the  fact  that  the  letter 
had  been  written  in  an  almost  undecipherable 
scrawl. 

My  Dearest  Girl:  I  wrote  you  some  time  ago 
telling  you  that  I  had  made  a  big  copper  find  out  here. 
I  hoped  then  that  everything  would  soon  be  all  right 
for  you  to  come  on.  But  things  have  turned  against 
me.     I  don't  know  just  how  I  am  going  to  come  out. 

Alva  frowned,  and  read  the  paragraph  again. 
It  was  Donald's  letter,  but  neither  the  writing 
nor  the  tone  seemed  quite  like  Donald's.  And 
the  words  seemed  very  oddly  sprawled  across 
the  page. 

As  I  say,  I  have  had  hard  luck  here.  I  thought  that 
this  place  would  surely  see  me  turning  the  trick,  but 
it  doesn't  look  that  way  now.  Everything  seems 
against  me.     I  never  saw  its  equal. 


194  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

I  don't  know  what  you  will  think  of  this,  but  if  we 
can't  get  the  money  together,  I  don't  know  what  we 
are  going  to  do.  You  may  think  that  this  is  pretty 
rough  on  you,  but  it  really  isn't  my  fault.  I  had  a 
good  claim  out  here  until  a  man  got  it  away  from  me 
— a  claim  I  could  have  sold  for  thirty  thousand  dollars. 
But  this  man — I'll  get  him  or  he'll  get  me,  some  day — 
did  me  out  of  it,  and  now  I'm  up  against  it  again. 

Perhaps  this  is  the  last  letter  I  shall  ever  write  you. 
Frankly,  I  don't  think  there  is  any  good  in  our  writing 
to  each  other  any  longer.    We'll  just  have  to — ■ 

Alva  reached  the  bottom  of  the  second  sheet, 
and  turned  it  over,  trembling,  to  continue  her 
struggle  with  the  frightful  sentences  v^hich 
steadily  grew  less  legible. 

There  was  nothing  written  on  the  other  side. 

For  a  moment  she  looked  about  to  assure  her- 
self that  she  had  dropped  no  part  of  the  letter 
on  the  floor — then,  little  by  little,  came  to  a 
realization  of  the  awful  truth: 

The  last  page  had  not  been  inclosed! 

The  woman's  face  grew  haggard.  It  would 
not  have  been  possible  to  strike  her  a  harder 
blow.  Careless  as  Donald  had  always  been, 
his  last  neglect  became  a  tragedy. 

And  yet,  as  she  stared,  unseeing,  at  the  blank 
wall  of  her  tent,  the  true  meaning  of  the  letter 
came  home  to  her.     Her  fine,  strong,  fearless 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  195 

boy — the  boy  who  would  go  anywhere,  fight 
anything — had  finally  lost  his  grip.  In  a  last 
agony  of  contrition,  he  had  been  trying  to  give 
her  up  as  one  of  whom  he  was  no  longer 
worthy.  He  had  tried  too  hard — had  worked 
too  long.  And  at  last,  when  he  was  tired  out 
and  sore  and  discouraged,  a  shrewder,  stronger 
man  had  beaten  him. 

She  turned  back  to  the  sentence  that  had 
burned  itself  into  her  memory — "I'll  get  him, 
or  he'll  get  me,  some  day." 

So  it  was  true,  after  all — what  the  man 
Duncan  had  said.  Everything  was  true — all 
that  her  woman's  instinct  had  told  her,  begin- 
ning with  his  lie  months  ago  about  the  mark 
on  her  baggage;  true  that  he  had  tricked  the 
claim  away  from  Donald — true  that  he  had 
had  him  put  away — true,  all  true — as  true  as 
the  fact  that  he  had  even  had  the  hardihood  to 
wear  as  his  own  the  love  token  she  had  given 
Donald. 

Alva  laid  the  letter  aside  and  rose  up  to 
walk  the  floor.  Long  ago  the  proofs  had  ac- 
cumulated, one  after  another,  and  now  it  was 
no  longer  worth  while  to  consider  them.  All 
that  had  ended  with  Donald's  letter.  And  to- 
morrow the  man  would  be  gone  out  of  her 


196  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

reach  across  Death  Valley — perhaps  forever. 

With  hands  clenched  tightly  behind  her,  the 
woman  walked  her  tent  hour  after  hour. 
Sometimes  she  paused  by  her  bedside  to  kneel 
down  and  pray;  sometimes  she  sank  into  her 
chair,  exhausted  by  her  endless  pacing,  and  sat 
motionless  for  half  an  hour,  struggling  be- 
tween despair  and  that  grim  force  which  still 
drove  her  mind  to  studying  out  some  way  of 
arriving  at  her  ends.  Midnight  came  and 
passed  and  she  still  sat  or  walked  about  in  the 
darkness.  At  four  in  the  morning  she 
pushed  the  flap  of  her  tent  to  one  side  and 
looked  out. 

Dawn  was  at  hand,  for  the  highest  of  the 
western  peaks  was  tipped  with  fire,  but  all  the 
valleys  were  still  filled  with  great  pools  of  mist, 
and  the  gray  half  light  made  a  grotesque 
world  seem  still  more  grotesque  and  unreal. 
The  camp  was  quiet,  the  only  sound  coming 
from  a  pair  of  mouse-colored  burros  nearby 
in  the  sage.  She  looked  again  and  knew  whose 
they  were,  for  they  were  packed  and  ready  for 
the  trail.  As  they  moved  vaguely  here  and 
there,  she  caught  the  faint  clink  of  some  metal 
articles  fastened  to  the  aparejos — a  coffeepot 
and  a  pan  striking  against  the  top  of  a  burlap- 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  197 

wound  canteen.  Presently  the  burros  saw  her, 
and,  raising  their  moist  noses  from  the  ground, 
came  up  in  ghostly  single  file,  seeking  food. 
When  a  few  feet  away,  the  foremost  animal 
stopped,  looked  hopefully  at  her,  then  dropped 
his  nose  to  the  ground  and  sidled  away.  The 
canteen,  swung  loosely  from  one  corner  of  the 
pack,  slid  forward.  The  coffeepot  and  the  pan 
clinked  again.  As  she  listened,  she  heard  foot- 
steps retreating  up  the  street,  and  presently, 
far  off,  the  sound  of  a  door  closing  in  the 
Miners'  Hall. 

And  then  in  that  unreal  light  and  in  that 
hideous,  unreal  place  where  only  wickedness 
seemed  actual  fact,  her  way  was  made  clear 
to  her  at  last.  She  would  take  the  law  into 
her  own  hands ! 

Quick  as  a  flash,  but  as  silent  as  a  shadow, 
she  slipped  into  her  kitchen  and  plucked  the 
sharp-pointed  can  opener  from  its  nail  on  the 
wall.  Another  swift,  noiseless  rush  and  she 
was  beside  the  slow-moving  burros.  As  she 
had  expected,  the  canteens  were  full  and  drip- 
ping, for  he  had  submerged  them  in  the  tank 
when  he  had  filled  them.  She  did  not  trouble 
to  look  around  to  see  if  anyone  were  watching, 
for  the  same  curious  impulse  was  driving  her 


198  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

that  had  had  her  in  its  clutches  the  night  be- 
fore. Instinctively  and  entirely  without  fear, 
she  was  about  to  do  the  one  necessary  thing — 
the  only  thing  left  for  her  to  do. 

He  would  need  no  water  until  after  he  had 
passed  Furnace  Creek  on  his  way  across  the 
valley.  He  had  said,  she  remembered,  that  he 
could  make  Bennett's  Wells  on  two  canteens. 
Probably  he  would  travel  until  late  that  night 
and  camp  on  the  floor  of  the  valley,  far  from 
the  small  stream  at  Furnace  Creek  and 
farther  still  from  Bennett's  Wells.  If  she 
knew  him  at  all,  he  would  not  think  of  turning 
back,  but  would  try,  somehow,  to  reach  the 
Wells,  even  though  the  water  in  his  canteens 
had  leaked  away.  As  to  what  would  ulti- 
mately happen  down  there  in  the  valley,  she 
had  no  doubt  whatever.  For  once  in  her  life 
she  thanked  God  that  the  man  was  physically 
brave,  for  his  fearlessness  would  be  his  un- 
doing. 

Alva  felt  with  the  point  of  the  can  opener 
until  she  knew  it  had  pierced  the  burlap  and 
was  resting  against  the  bottom  of  the  canteen. 
A  sharp  blow  with  the  palm  of  her  hand  and 
the  steel  went  through.  She  waited  a  moment 
to  feel  a  tiny  stream  well  out  against  her  fin- 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  199 

ger,  then  punctured  the  other  canteen  in  the 
same  way.  If  he  traveled  fast,  his  animals 
would  be  kept  ten  yards  or  more  ahead  of  him, 
far  enough  for  the  slow  dripping  to  escape  his 
eye.  Drop  by  drop  the  precious  water  would 
seep  through  the  coverings  and  evaporate,  or 
fall  on  the  hot  ground  in  pellets  of  dust,  curl 
up,  and  be  lost.  Alva  went  back  to  her  tent, 
closed  and  locked  the  doors,  and  sat  down  to 
wait  for  daylight.  At  the  very  last  moment 
she  had  found  a  way  to  vengeance — and  the 
outcome  was  absolutely  certain. 

And  as  she  sat  there,  she  found  that  she  was 
no  longer  restless  or  sick  at  heart.  So  great 
was  her  sense  of  relief  that  it  seemed  as  if  she 
had  had  a  burning  fever  for  months  past,  and 
it  had  broken  all  in  a  moment,  or  as  if  a  fright- 
ful headache  had  suddenly  passed  away.  Her 
task  was  over  and  done  with,  and  her  mind  was 
once  more  as  clear  as  a  bell. 

She  did  not  even  meditate  on  the  frightful 
end  that  was  to  come  to  him  down  there  in  the 
yellow  sink  whose  terrors  he  knew  so  well,  be- 
cause that  was  what  she  had  come  to  Magnet 
to  accomplish.  The  tortures  that  he  would  pass 
through  did  not  interest  her.  Others  had  been 
tortured,  too,  and,  what  was  worse,  had  had 


200  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

to  live.  Torture  itself  was  nothing,  for  its 
memory  would  pass  out  of  existence  with  life. 
Let  him  be  tortured.     Who  cared? 

The  burros  nosed  about  in  the  brush  for  half 
an  hour — dawn  streaked  the  east — the  light 
grew  stronger.  She  heard  the  door  up  the 
street  close  again.  She  went  to  her  own  door, 
made  sure  it  was  fastened  securely,  came  back 
to  her  chair,  and  sat  down. 

Footsteps  came  near,  and  she  knew  from  the 
snap  of  the  taut  ropes  that  he  was  trying  the 
pack  reatas  for  tightness.  Then  came  the  re- 
peated clink  of  metal  as  the  burros  were  headed 
up  the  basin  toward  Furnace  Creek  and 
prodded  into  a  reluctant  trot.  Alva  softly  ex- 
haled the  deep  breath  she  had  been  holding — 
then  caught  herself,  and  sat  bolt  upright. 

He  was  standing  outside  her  door! 

"Alva,"  he  said,  in  a  gentle  voice  that  could 
reach  no  ear  but  hers,  *Tve  come  to  say  *good- 
by.'     Won't  you  wish  me  luck,  little  woman  ?" 

Alva's  heart  seemed  to  stop  beating. 

He  waited  a  moment  for  her  answer. 

"I'll  not  be  back  soon,"  he  said,  with  the  old, 
heart-searching  note  in  his  voice  that  once  had 
so  nearly  deceived  her.     "I  know  you're  up 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  201 

and  around,  because  I  heard  you.  It's  a  hard 
job  IVe  tackled — but  you  know  who  it's  for 
this  time,  as  well  as  I.  I'm  wishing  you'd  tell 
a  fellow  'good-by/  " 

The  woman  sat  rigid  in  her  chair,  her  face 
convulsed.  As  if  there  was  nothing  between 
them,  she  could  see  him  standing  there  without, 
listening  and  waiting,  the  kind  eyes  pleading 
with  her  gently,  a  strong  brown  hand  raised 
to  hide  the  sensitive  lips  that  quivered  with 
feeling.  She  prayed  to  Heaven  for  the  mo- 
ment to  pass.  She  had  not  looked  for  this. 
If  only  that  pleading  voice  would  cease! 

*Tf  you'd  open  the  door,"  he  said,  "I  have 
something  that  belongs  to  you.  I've  kept  it 
too  long — but  you'd  excuse  the  reason.  If 
you'll  not  say  good-by,  then  I  want  it  no 
longer." 

Alva  clenched  her  hands  to  keep  from 
shrieking.  She  slipped  down  from  her  chair 
to  her  knees. 

''Dear  God,"  she  whispered,  with  pallid  lips, 
''God  in  heaven — take  him — oh,  take  him 
away !" 

"Well,"  he  said  at  last,  "I  guess  it's  over. 
I'd  have  done  anything  in  the  whole  wide 


202  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

world  for  you,  Alva,  but  if  you  can't  see  me 
as  I  am,  then  it's  better  that  I  stop  trying  to 
make  you  see.  I've  gone  as  far  as  I  can  go. 
Good-by." 

And  he  was  gone. 


CHAPTER  IX 

AT  nine  o'clock  that  morning  Alva  walked 
into  Mrs.  Baker's  living  room  at  the 
post  office. 

''Amelia/'  she  said  decisively,  "I'm  leaving 
Magnet  on  this  afternoon's  stage.  Do  you 
v^ant  to  take  the  boarding  house?" 

Mrs.  Baker,  red-eyed  from  the  night's 
miseries,  groped  for  a  chair,  and  sat  heavily 
down. 

"I  knew  I'd  done  it!"  she  wailed.  "And 
now  you're  going  to  go  and  never  come  back! 
I'll  never  forgive  myself  as  long  as  I  live. 
The  boarding  house!  My  sakes  alive,  dearie! 
Baker  and  me  haven't  got  money  enough  this 
morning  to  borrow  a  stewed  prune.  If  it 
wasn't  for  the  post-office  job,  we'd  be  sleeping 
out  in  the  brush.  A  new  man  went  on  the 
wheel  down  to  the  Green  Front  last  night,  and 
Baker's  lost  every  good,  iron  dollar  we  ever 
had!"  With  which  sorrowful  confession, 
Mrs.  Baker  covered  her  head  with  her  apron, 
and  shook  with  sobs. 

203 


204  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

The  Eastern  woman's  face  lost  its  somber 
look,  and  grew  softly  radiant. 

*'But  I'm  not  asking  you  to  buy  me  out, 
Amelia/'  she  said  gently.  "I'm  only  asking 
if  you  want  it.  I  think  it  will  earn  you  another 
home  in  Los  Angeles  if  you're  careful.  I'm 
giving  it  to  you,  Amelia — free  and  clear." 

An  hour  later  Alva's  things  were  packed 
and  ready  for  the  stage.  She  would  leave  as 
she  had  come — silently.  And  as  to  why  she 
had  come  or  gone,  no  one  in  Magnet  would 
ever  be  the  wiser. 

She  stood  in  her  doorway  for  a  while,  as  had 
been  her  wont,  and  looked  out  for  a  last  time  on 
this  curious  place  that  had  absorbed  her  life  for 
six  long  months.  But  there  was  none  of  it 
that  she  wished  to  remember,  nor  was  she  con- 
scious of  any  emotion  except  an  overwhelming 
desire  to  make  her  escape  as  soon  as  possible. 
Presently  she  put  on  her  hat,  and  set  out 
through  the  sagebrush  behind  the  tents  toward 
the  cemetery  on  the  hill.  To-day  she  could 
stand  beside  her  grave  without  reproach. 

But  because  she  suddenly  began  to  feel  ter- 
ribly tired,  she  did  not  raise  her  eyes  till  she 
was  nearly  there.  When  she  did  so,  she  saw 
the  red-haired  woman,  in  a  spangled  dress  and 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  205 

with  nothing  on  her  head,  sitting  on  the  ground 
in  the  blazing  sunHght  beside  the  headboard. 
Looking  a  Httle  closer,  she  saw  that  the  woman 
was  drunk. 

*'Oh,  it's  you,  is  it?"  the  woman  said  con- 
temptuously. "Go  away  and  let  me  alone. 
Tm  all  right — and  no  bother." 

"I  haven't  come  to  interrupt  you,"  Alva 
answered. 

*Then  why  are  you  here?"  was  the  query. 
"But  I  don't  care,"  the  woman  went  on,  and 
took  a  drink  from  a  bottle  beside  her.  "I've 
beaten  you,  Miss  Iceberg — and  no  mistake 
about  that.  Dick  Randall's  gone — and  he 
won't  ever  come  back!" 

"I  know,"  Alva  answered,  and  began  to  move 
away.  "He's  gone  down  to  the  Valley  after 
a  mine." 

"Ha!  Ha!"  said  the  red-haired  woman. 
"Ha-ha-ha !  That's  pretty  good.  Yes.  That 
might  even  be  called  Very  fair.'  Gone  down 
to  the  valley  after  a  mine,  eh  ?  Yes,  he's  gone 
to  the  Valley,  all  right — the  Valley  of  the 
Shadow  of  Death!  How's  that,  Miss  Don't- 
touch-me?  How's  that  for  Bible  learning? 
And  he  won't  ever  come  back!" 

Alva  stopped  and  looked  back,  more  with 


2o6  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

curiosity  than  fear.  Could  it  be  that  the  other 
knew  what  had  been  done  to  the  canteens  ? 

The  look,  however,  was  too  searching  to 
suit  the  other,  and  she  promptly  took  offense. 
And  as  she  glared  back  at  the  Eastern  woman, 
something  seemed  to  pierce  a  hidden  sac  and 
let  the  gall-like  bitterness  of  life  for  such  as 
she  flow  out  and  poison  eyes  and  face.  Yet 
convulsed  and  hideous  with  anger  though  her 
face  was,  there  was  a  curious  glitter  of  triumph 
in  her  eyes. 

'TVe  been  watching  you  for  some  time,"  she 
said  venomously.  "You  thought  you  were  go- 
ing to  get  Dick  Randall  for  a  husband — but 
you  won't.  I  saw  him  kissing  you  yesterday. 
Well,  you'll  never  kiss  him  again.  Dick  Ran- 
dall wouldn't  as  much  as  look  at  the  likes  of 
me,  and  I've  been  a  fool  to  think  he  would,  but 
I've  come  up  even  with  the  game  at  last,  'cause 
I'm  even  with  youT 

Alva  wondered.  So  Randall  had  never  as- 
sociated with  the  woman,  after  all !  However, 
it  did  not  matter. 

''How  are  you  'even'  with  me?"  she  asked, 
for  the  woman's  significant  tones  rang  in  her 
ears. 

As  the  woman  began  to  answer,  the  con- 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  207 

sciousness  of  what  she  was  confessing  seemed 
to  sober  her. 

*'Dick  Randall  was  the  finest  man  I  ever 
knew/'  she  said,  "  but  he's  dead  now,  and 
there's  an  end  to  him.  If  it  hadn't  been  for 
you,  he  would  have  been  mine.  I  knew  the 
kind  of  man  he  was.  He  wanted  a  woman 
with  a  heart  and  a  body — and  he  would  have 
given  her  all  of  his  in  return. 

''There  was  no  one  here  before  you  came, 
and  I  was  straightening  up.  I'd  have  been  a 
good  woman  again — the  best  kind  of  a  woman 
for  a  man  like  him — if  you  hadn't  come  along. 
For — what  kind  of  a  woman  does  a  man  like 
him  want  ?  He  wants  a  woman  that  will  stick 
by  him  day  in,  day  out,  forever.  He  wants  a 
woman  that  will  sleep  anywhere,  eat  anywhere, 
live  anywhere — one  that  will  go  along  with 
him  in  this  rough  country  and  help  him  with 
her  common  sense  and  her  bravery — one  that 
will  see  how  he's  building  himself  up  every  day, 
and  who  wants  to  be  part  of  everything  he 
does.  He  wants  someone  he  can  turn  to — 
someone  that  will  take  the  trouble  to  look  down 
into  his  mind  and  see  what  he's  trying  to  do  for 
them  both.  He  wants  someone  who  can  look 
ahead  and  see  the  big  future  that's  coming,  and 


2o8  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

be  satisfied  in  the  meantime  with  one  good, 
decent  man.  He  doesn't  want  a  wife — he 
wants  a  mate!  If  a  woman's  going  to  stay  out 
her  life  in  this  mining  country,  that's  what 
she's  got  to  be  if  she  wants  to  be  worthy  of  a 
man  Hke  him.  If  she  don't  Hke  the  Hfe  and 
can't  see  what's  coming  up,  then  let  her  get 
out! 

**If  you'd  have  been  a  regular  Easterner,  I 
wouldn't  have  been  afraid  of  you  for  a  minute. 
But  he  thought  you  were  the  kind  of  a  woman 
I've  been  talking  about,  and  so  when  he  knew 
you  were  a  good  woman,  too,  it  was  all  over 
for  me.  I  think  he  knew  somehow  that  I'd 
fight  for  him  twenty  times  where  you'd  only 
turn  and  run,  but  probably  the  other  side  of  it 
was  too  much  against  me.  Since  then  I've 
tried  to  show  him  what  I'd  do  for  him,  but  it 
wasn't  any  use. 

"Life's  been  hard  for  me.  I  guess  God  didn't 
figure  on  my  amounting  to  much  all  along  from 
the  start.  But  if  I  can't  ever  get  into  your 
class,  along  of  no  fault  of  my  own,  why,  then 
you  can  be  mighty  sure  that  you'll  never  get 
the  man  /  wanted.  You've  said  your  last  love 
words  to  Dick  Randall,  Miss  All  Right — and 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  209 

youVe  kissed  your  last  kiss.  Before  he  went 
away,  I  slipped  some  cyanide  into  his  can- 
teens r 

*'Some  what F"  Sisktd  Alva,  only  partly  un- 
derstanding. 

''Cyanide,  you  fool/'  replied  the  other  con- 
temptuously. *'If  he  drinks  a  drop,  he's  done. 
And  I  guess  it's  all  over  now.  So  you  won't 
get  him !" 

Alva  sank  down  on  the  ground  on  the  other 
side  of  the  grave. 

"So  you  really  tried  to  kill  him!"  she  said, 
in  an  astonished  whisper.  ''Why — why,  what 
a  curious  thing  to  do!" 

"Why  curious?"  the  woman  retorted  an- 
grily. "You  were  in  love  with  him,  and  he 
with  you.  I  couldn't  figure  out  how  to  get  rid 
of  you,  so  I  did  him.  And  no  one  will  ever 
know  how  it  was  done,  until  you  tell.  Then 
it'll  be  too  late." 

"That's  true,"  Alva  answered,  misunder- 
standing the  last  remark.  "Probably  he  won't 
be  found  for  weeks.  But  why  did  you  do  it? 
I  didn't  love  him." 

The  red-haired  woman  first  looked  as  if  she 
had  not  heard  clearly,  then  shook  her  head 


2IO  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

in  refusal  of  the  idea.  But  finally  her  face 
began  to  show  surprise  over  Alva's  lack  of  in- 
terest. 

*'Don't  talk  like  that/'  she  said,  with  a  weary 
gesture.  "No  plain,  ordinary  woman  can  fool 
me.  I  can  see  through  you  like  a  pane  of 
glass." 

''But  I  say  you  are  wrong!"  Alva  insisted. 
'T  couldn't  love  him.  I  hated  him.  He  was 
my  worst  enemy !" 

*'Go  along,  child!"  was  the  tired  rejoinder, 
as  the  woman  took  a  drink  from  her  bottle. 
**I  don't  know  why  you're  saying  it,  but  if  it 
pleases  you,  why,  go  right  ahead.  You  can't 
bother  me.     Nothing  can." 

Alva  reached  across  the  grave  and,  with  her 
hand  on  the  other's,  held  the  bottle  down  on 
the  ground. 

''Lillian,"  she  said,  with  white  anger,  "if  I 
asked  you  to  believe  every  word  I  utter  just 
as  if  your  own  mother  told  you,  would  you 
believe  me  thenf 

"Sakes  alive!  Ain't  she  growing  wild?" 
ejaculated  the  other.  "Well,  what  is  it, 
dearie?  Tell  mamma  all  about  it.  Do  you 
think  he  shot  young  Jaffray?" 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  211 

"I  know  it/'  Alva  answered,  and  wondered 
how  the  other  had  guessed  it. 

''And  what  did  you  do  to  him  for  that?'' 
jeered  the  woman.  "Something  deviHsh,  I 
s'pose — Hke  me." 

''Yes/'  said  Alva  quietly,  and  looked  her 
square  in  the  eyes.     "Just — like — you!" 

The  woman  frowned  a  little  and  blinked  her 
bloodshot  eyes.  She  took  a  long  breath,  and 
straightened  up  as  if  to  collect  her  faculties. 

"It's  all  right  to  fool  a  little/'  she  said,  "but 
don't  let  it  go  too  far.  You  were  in  love  with 
that  man  ever  since  the  day  you  met,  whether 
you  know  it  or  not.  He  knew  it,  too,  and 
that's  why  I  stood  no  show.  But  you  couldn't 
do  him  any  harm.  You  haven't  had  the  right 
bringing  up  for  killing/' 

"He  murdered  Donald  Jaffray,"  Alva  an- 
swered stonily.  "There  was  no  one  to  punish 
him  for  it,  and  no  way  to  do  it.  So  I  did  it 
myself — like  you.  Does  that  look  as  if  I  loved 
him?" 

The  woman's  eyes  grew  stronger  and 
clearer.  They  glittered  with  a  strange  light 
in  which  approaching  horror  was  mixed  with 
a  near  understanding.     Her  dry,  colorless  lips 


212  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

moved  soundlessly.  Her  gaze  was  riveted  on 
Alva's  somber  face. 

"Why,  woman  r  she  whispered,  and  grew 
pallid.     "You're  telling  the  truth !" 

"I  am,"  Alva  answered,  and  it  was  impos- 
sible not  to  read  the  honesty  in  her  tones. 
*'Now  will  you  believe  me?" 

The  other  woman  seemed  to  turn  to  stone. 

"You,  too!"  she  whispered,  while  her  hand 
clawed  at  her  cheek.     "Oh,  God !    You,  too !" 

Then  something  inside  her  seemed  to  die. 
There  had  never  been  overmuch  of  either  hope 
or  happiness  in  her  face  at  any  time,  and  now 
even  those  faint  lights  flickered  and  went  out 
forever.  Her  face  went  from  red  to  the  dead 
gray  of  ashes.  Her  eyes  were  as  blank  as  a 
wall. 

"And  thafs  the  biggest  joke  of  all !"  she  said. 
"The  game  was  against  me  from  the  start,  but 
now  the  last  card's  out  of  the  box." 

She  stared  unseeingly  before  her  for  a  mo- 
ment, then  broke  into  an  awful,  jeering  laugh. 

"That's  certainly  a  screamer  on  us  two,"  she 
said.  ''You  tried  to  kill  him  because  you 
thought  he'd  done  up  Jaff ray,  and  /  tried  to  do 
it  because  I  thought  you  were  in  love  with  him 
— and    we    were    both    wrong.     Two    fool 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  213 

women!''  she  ground  out,  between  her  teeth. 
"May  God  in  His  mercy  have  pity  on  our 
souls!" 

Alva  didn't  understand. 

"He  shot  him,"  she  repeated  somberly,  and 
pointed  at  the  grave  between.     "There  he  lies." 

The  red-haired  woman  gave  her  a  startled 
look  that  seemed  to  question  her  sanity. 

"Yes.  There  he  lies''  she  answered,  with 
fathomless  contempt.  "And  he's  still  lying  to 
you — ^just  like  he  lied  when  he  was  alive !" 

Seeing  that  she  wasn't  understood,  she  sud- 
denly grew  furiously  angry.  With  a  sweep  of 
her  hand,  she  struck  Alva  a  stinging  blow  on 
the  cheek. 

"Wake  up,  woman!"  she  cried,  with  white- 
hot  wrath.  "Wake  up  and  let  me  tell  you 
something  about  this  man — this  wonderful  man 
of  yours  that  you  tried  to  kill  Dick  Randall  for 
— though  you*  don't  say  how  you  did  it." 
Springing  up  like  an  aroused  tigress,  she  jerked 
Alva  to  her  feet  with  a  powerful  clutch  of  her 
hand. 

"Look  down  there  at  that  grave!"  she 
screamed.  "Look  down  in  there,  and  see  if 
you  see  the  fine,  Christian  gentleman  that  you 
thought  you  had.     0-h-h-h !     I  know  all  about 


214  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

you,  and  why  you  came  to  Magnet,  and  if  you 
hadn't  fooled  me  and  fooled  Dick  Randall,  I'd 
have  put  you  right  long  ago. 

"Look  down!''  she  cried,  and  pointed  a 
quivering  finger  at  the  grave.  "There  lies  a 
man  who  was  no  good!  Don  Jaffray  was  his 
name.  And  when  I  tell  you  that  he  was  no 
good,  remember  that  it's  me  that's  telling  you 
— me,  who  knows  more  about  men  in  ten  sec- 
onds than  you'd  know  in  ten  years — me,  who's 
been  with  'em  from  Alaska  to  Arizona — drank 
with  'em,  ate  with  'em,  lived  with  'em,  wasted 
my  life  for  'em.  And  I  tell  you  that  this  fel- 
low was  the  poorest,  weakest,  lowest  specimen 
of  a  man  that  ever  walked  this  desert.  He 
never  amounted  to  anything — he  never  could. 
All  he  had  was  a  smile  and  a  way  with  women. 
Do  anything  for  himf  Try  to  get  justice  for 
himt  Commit  murder  for  himf  Why — ^he 
was  worse  than  Danny  the  Bum  ever  thought 
of  being,  for  while  he  was  writing  his  precious 
love  letters  to  you,  he  was  spending  all  his 
money  on  meT 

"Lies !  Lies !"  came  the  frantic  cry,  as,  with 
face  convulsed,  Alva  tried  to  strike  the  other 
down.  "You  don't  know  what  you're  saying. 
You  have  no  proof!" 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  215 

"Is  it  proof  you  want?"  the  woman  cried, 
springing  back  out  of  reach.  'Then  here  it  is. 
There's  part  of  a  letter  down  in  my  tent  right 
now  that  he  wrote  you  last  winter  while  he  was 
in  my  own  room.     Now  will  you  believe  me? 

''Oh,  I  guess  you  will,"  she  went  on,  with  a 
contemptuous  glance  at  the  blanched  cheeks. 
"That's  always  the  way  with  you  soft  women. 
You  haven't  got  sense  enough  to  pick  a 
good  man  to  kill  for.  I  suppose,  like  as  not, 
he  told  you  that  he'd  got  done  out  of  his  claim. 
He  used  to  tell  me  that,  too — till  I  shut  him 
up.  Don  Jaffray  lost  his  claim  because  he  was 
too  drunk  to  get  out  and  do  his  holding  work. 
When  time  was  up,  it  was  Randall  who  did  the 
work,  and  then  went  and  gave  him  some 
money,  which  he  didn't  have  to  do.  Oh,  yes, 
he  was  a  fine  one !  If  I'd  ever  been  in  love  with 
Donald  Jaffray,  I'd  want  to  go  away  and  hide 
riiy  head.  Why,  I  even  got  him  to  sell  his 
watch  so  as  to  give  me  money.  Perhaps  Ran- 
dall bought  that,  too." 

Alva  stood  amid  the  ruins  of  her  world,  and 
saw  the  earth  opening  beneath  her  feet.  The 
red-haired  woman  might  have  picked  a  hun- 
dred different  sins  and  called  them  Donald's, 
and  had  only  scorn  for  her  pains,  but  the  fact 


2i6  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

remained  that  she  had  made  the  one  statement 
that  Alva  knew  was  unquestionably  true.  She 
had  proved  the  one  unforgivable  thing  that 
made  all  the  others  possible. 

"He  shot  him !"  Alva  whispered,  not  because 
that  was  what  she  thought,  but  because  her 
mind  had  stopped  working  and  her  lips  were 
merely  repeating  what  they  had  been  long 
formed  to  say.  "He  shot  him,"  she  said  again, 
and  then  was  done. 

"He  never  shot  him !"  the  red-haired  woman 
screamed  like  a  fury  in  her  ear.  ^^He  shot 
himself!    Danny  the  Bum  saw  him  do  it!" 

She  thrust  her  hand  into  her  waist,  and 
pulled  out  a  battered  notebook.  "See  that,  you 
fool!  That's  Danny's  precious  book  that  I 
found  on  his  body  yesterday.  He  was  the  only 
man  in  Magnet  who  knew  how  Jaffray  died." 
Fumbling  it  frantically,  she  spread  out  a  torn 
page  under  Alva's  staring  eyes.  "Look  at  it 
and  read  it  yourself." 

And  Alva  read : 

Last  nite  I  see  a  yung  feller  shoot  himself  out  in 
the  brush  back  of  the  Red  Onion  abt  %.  mile.  He 
done  it  with  an  old  stile  Frontier  Colt  44  with  2  nics 
in  the  but.    I  could  only  get  $1  for  it 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  217 

After  a  long  pause  Alva  lifted  her  eyes 
slowly  from  the  page. 

'Then— he— didn't— kill— him— after  all !" 
she  said,  with  a  frightful  effort.  "I — have — 
been — wrong — from — the — start !" 

The  red-haired  woman  laughed  and  tossed 
the  book  away. 

'That's  what,"  she  said.  'That  bet  goes  for 
both  of  us.  We  were  wrong  from  the  start." 
Her  vitality  seemed  to  wane,  and  she  sank 
down,  dull-eyed,  on  the  ground.  "How  could 
I  ever  have  figured  to  get  right !" 

Still  on  her  feet,  though  her  senses  reeled, 
the  woman  from  the  East  clutched  at  her 
throat  in  a  strangled  effort  to  speak.  "We've 
killed  him!"  she  shrieked,  as  the  truth  came 
home.  "We've  killed  that  good  man — and 
there  was  no  reason !" 

"There  was,  but  there  ain't,"  the  other  an- 
swered, in  a  dead  voice.  "And  the  difference 
between  seeing  things  as  they  are  and  as  they 
aint  is  what  makes  lives  right  or  wrong.  I 
didn't  know  that  anybody  could  be  as  crazy  as 
I  am,  but  I  guess  you're  it.  Now,  go  along 
and  leave  me.  Because  /  am  done!"  And  she 
turned  her  back  and  began  to  fumble  with  a 


2i8  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

knot  in  her  handkerchief  where  she  had  kept 
something  concealed.  But  before  she  un- 
covered it,  she  raised  the  bottle  once  more. 

''Here's  to  Dick  Randall/'  she  said.  ''A  last 
drink  to  the  whitest  man  in  heaven.  If  he  isn't 
there  yet,  he  mighty  soon  will  be." 

And  then  the  light  that  had  been  withheld 
from  Alva  Leigh  for  so  many  months  came 
back  into  her  mind.  Struck  dumb  with  horror, 
she  realized  that  her  morbid  brooding  had 
blunted  her  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  had 
stolen  away  her  womanliness  long  before  she 
had  ever  come  to  Magnet.  And  she  saw  now 
what  the  desert  madness  had  wrought  for  she 
had  misread  every  good  motive,  interpreted 
every  honest  act  with  suspicious,  jaundiced 
eyes. 

Although  she  would  never  have  understood 
if  his  own  surroundings  had  not  also  been  hers 
she  could  see  the  reasons  for  Donald's  failure 
and  all  the  progressions  of  his  fall.  The  evi- 
dence had  been  given  and  no  futile  wish  of  hers 
could  change  it.  It  lay  in  every  self-excusing 
line  he  had  written  for  four  years — in  what  he 
had  not  written — and,  above  all,  in  what  he  had 
written,  but  had  never  sent.  Lack  of  will- 
power, loneliness,  bad  companions  and  drink 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  219 

had  changed  the  boy  from  an  irresponsible 
rover  into  a  broken,  moral-less  wreck, — and  re- 
morse had  done  the  rest.  The  desert  had 
beaten  him. 

With  this  lightning  stroke  of  revelation  the 
image  of  Donald  Jaffray  which,  for  all  these 
years  had  been  her  most  precious  possession, 
passed  out  of  Alva  Leigh's  mind  forever.  An- 
other rose  up  in  its  place — one  that  was  nobler 
and  more  manlike  in  its  indomitable  strength. 
She  saw  the  western  desert  man,  of  the  un- 
daunted boyhood  and  masterful  years,  as  he 
came  to  her  rescue  on  the  first  night.  Again — 
she  saw  him  as  day  by  day  he  did  her  secret 
kindnesses.  And  she  saw  him  as,  for  the  last 
time,  he  spoke  his  saddened  good-by  outside 
her  door.  She  knew  now  that  somewhere 
among  those  steadfast  months  her  first  true 
conception  of  life  had  been  born  through  him 
and  with  it  had  come  a  friendship  which  had 
been  her  only  salvation — and  the  oflfer  of  some- 
thing far  more  wonderful  than  friendship.  As 
her  new  image  became  transfigured  by  these 
thoughts  the  light  of  faith  and  love  which  shone 
in  his  kind  eyes  was  more  than  she  could 
bear. 

To  add  to  her  agony,  the  reasons  for  every- 


220  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

thing  he  had  done  were  now  so  crystal  clear. 
She  saw  that  he  had  done  her  a  friendly  act, 
even  before  she  had  set  out  for  Magnet,  for  it 
had  been  he  who  had  sent  her  the  marked  news- 
paper months  ago.  It  was  plain  that  he  had 
known  who  she  was,  and  why  she  had  come 
to  Magnet  from  the  very  first,  and  a  great 
wave  of  shame  swept  over  her  when  she 
thought  of  the  insults  whose  prompting  suspi- 
cion he  must  have  understood  so  well. 

And  yet  the  short  moment  in  which  all  these 
things  were  made  clear  did  not  permit  her  to 
review  each  scene  and  action  by  itself.  In- 
stead, she  seemed  to  see  all  of  them  simultan- 
eously, like  some  great  composite  picture  in 
which  she  constantly  recognized  new  proofs 
of  that  blessed  gift  which  she  had  so  blindly 
refused — a  picture  so  true  that  it  finally  led  her 
on  to  her  own  actions  and  the  inexorable  end. 

For  a  little  while  she  tried  to  reject  the  idea 
that  she  had  deliberately  planned  to  kill  an- 
other human  being.  Now  that  everything  was 
clear,  it  was  unbelievable  that  crime  and  the 
Alva  Leigh  whose  purposes  she  knew  so  well 
could  ever  have  joined  hands.  She  thought  of 
her  family  traditions,  her  religious  beliefs,  her 
carefully  guarded  girlhood,  of  every  protect- 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  221 

ing,  sane-minded  influence  that  had  surrounded 
her  Hfe  since  the  day  of  her  birth,  and  crimi- 
nahty,  for  Alva  Leigh,  became  an  impossible 
thing.  She  thought  of  Natalie — of  Sally — of 
Nannie  Ferguson  waiting  faithfully  at  home — 
of  her  old  girl .  friends — of  all  the  beautiful 
things  that  memory's  world  held — of  the  far 
more  beautiful  world  to  which  someone  had 
lately  given  her  the  key — and  she  was  ready  to 
cast  the  idea  out  of  mind  for  a  hideous  night- 
mare. And  then  she  remembered  Mrs. 
Baker's  astonishment  at  the  change  that  the 
desert  had  wrought,  and  was  filled  with  awful 
fright.  Could  it  possibly  be  that  she,  Alva 
Leigh,  had  become  a  wicked  woman? 

A  dreadful  vision  filled  her  eyes.  She 
seemed  to  see  her  family,  her  friends,  herself 
in  the  person  of  her  earlier  life,  on  the  other 
side  of  a  great  gap  whose  abyss  was  infinite  in 
depth.  Upon  the  nearer  brink  stood  the  Alva 
Leigh  of  to-day,  blackened  forever  with  the 
same  pitch  that  defiled  the  lost  soul  beside  her. 

She  stood  still,  agonized,  while  yellow  hills 
and  sky  and  blazing  sun  rocked  up  and  down. 
The  world  grew  dark,  and  she  heard  no  sounds. 
Sanity  trembled  in  the  balance.  Then  her  body 
revolted  under  the  strain, — her  heart  began 


222  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

to  beat  once  more.  The  blood  flowed  through 
her  veins  with  an  agonizing  tingHng.  Sight 
and  hearing  returned  apace.  She  came  in 
touch  with  Hfe  again. 

And  with  her  returning  senses,  the  words 
that  the  other  woman  had  last  spoken  came 
back  to  her,  fresh  and  vivid.  Her  eyes  opened 
wildly — she  gasped  from  a  dry  throat,  then 
flung  up  her  hands  to  heaven  with  a  cry. 

''Not  dead,"  she  shrieked.  ''Not  dead  yet! 
God  help  me  to  reach  him  V  And  with  never 
a  backward  glance  she  whirled  away  and  went 
running  down  the  hill. 

It  was  only  a  little  after  ten  o'clock.  Even 
if  he  had  traveled  fast,  he  would  now  be  only 
halfway  to  Furnace  Creek.  Could  she  hope 
to  overtake  him  ?  It  did  not  occur  to  her  that 
a  drink  from  his  canteen  would  be  governed 
more  by  thirst  than  by  the  time  of  day — all  she 
could  think  of  was  a  great  gray  basin  between 
ragged  mountains  and  the  figure  of  a  man  plod- 
ding along  behind  two  burros  through  a  sea  of 
sage.  Then  she  realized  with  awful  dismay 
that  she  could  never  hope  to  reach  him  if  she 
went  on  foot.  She  must  go  in  a  wagon  or  else 
find  a  horse.  And  so  she  did  not  stop  at  her 
tent  longer  than  to  snatch  the  dripping  canvas 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  223 

water-bag  from  its  nail  outside  the  door. 
Then  she  rushed  on  behind  the  tents  toward  the 
lumber  yard  below  the  town,  for  it  often  hap- 
pened at  this  time  of  day  that  the  horse  on 
which  Andy  made  his  excursions  to  the  outly- 
ing shafts  stood,  saddled  and  bridled,  in  a  cor- 
ral in  one  corner  of  the  yard. 

As  she  hurried  through  the  brush,  the  sight 
of  the  idlers  in  the  streets  filled  her  with  agony. 
She  wanted  to  cry  out  to  them — to  stop  their 
foolish  joking  and  shock  them  into  action. 
The  thought  that  there  was  no  time  to  speak 
the  word  that  would  change  that  lazy  scene 
into  an  uproar — that  she  alone  must  carry 
the  terrible  knowledge  in  her  mind  until  the 
end  set  her  in  a  frenzy.  Then  she  turned  the 
last  tent  and  gasped  with  relief,  for  the  horse 
was  standing  in  the  corral,  ready  saddled  and 
bridled,  and  nosing  over  the  fence  to  see  who 
was  coming. 

A  few  steps  more  and  she  had  pulled  the  gate 
bars  out  and  was  untying  the  halter.  Throw- 
ing the  loop  of  the  water  bag  over  the  pommel, 
she  tried  to  lead  the  animal  close  to  the  fence 
so  that  she  could  mount.  When  he  failed  to 
understand  her  excited  tugging,  she  struck  him 
frantically  with  her  clenched  fist,  and  sobbed 


224  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

aloud  over  her  impotence.  But  he  soon  threw 
up  his  head  with  a  jerk  and  sidled  nearer  the 
fence,  and,  without  stopping  to  try  the  cinch, 
she  stepped  up  on  the  boards,  and  got  into  the 
saddle. 

All  told,  it  was  a  bare  three  minutes  after 
the  red-haired  woman's  last  words  had  been 
spoken  before  Alva  was  galloping  furiously 
down  the  long  slope  of  the  basin  toward  Death 
Valley. 

And  as  she  rode  she  was  unmindful  either  of 

the  loose  girth  beneath  her  or  of  the  hell  of 

heat  overhead,  for  a  new  anguish  had  been 

added  to  her  burden. 

She  loved  him. 

•  •••••• 

Up  on  the  hot  hillside  the  red-haired  woman 
in  her  spangled  dress  sat  picking  laboriously  at 
the  knot  in  her  handkerchief.  She  succeeded 
in  opening  it  after  a  time,  and  took  out  a  lump 
of  something  that  stuck  to  her  fingers  as  she 
handled  it.  Breathing  heavily,  she  raised  it  to 
her  tongue  for  a  tentative  taste.  Then  she 
sighed  once  or  twice,  and  swallowed  it.  The 
lump  had  seemed  small  and  white,  like  a  cube 
of  sugar.     But  it  was  not  sugar,  and  after  a 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  225 

moment  the  woman  shuddered  and  lay  down 
beside  the  grave. 

'The  difference  between  seeing  things  as 
they  are  and  as  they  ain't/' 

For  the  hundredth  time  Alva's  straining  eyes 
picked  out  a  distant  figure  in  the  sage  only  to 
drop  it  again  in  despair,  and  think  of  the  red- 
haired  woman's  bitter  sally.  The  faint  black 
shape  had  been  only  the  trunk  of  a  Joshua 
palm,  lurching  from  side  to  side  in  the  heat 
waves  that  eddied  liquidly  in  the  air,  grotesque 
and  hideous  with  its  outflung  arms,  and  yet  not 
a  whit  more  grotesque  than  the  images  that 
she  had  thought  so  real  for  all  those  months. 

Her  face  grew  haggard.  Miles  back  she 
had  lost  her  hat,  and  her  head  was  frightfully 
hot.  She  had  never  before  ridden  a  horse  for 
a  tenth  of  the  distance  she  had  already  covered 
in  the  hour  past,  and  the  stirrups  were  too 
long  and  the  leathers  too  short.  She  could 
only  grip  as  best  she  might  with  her  sore, 
weakened  knees,  and  hold  to  the  pommel  with 
both  hands. 

A  half  hour  later  she  felt  herself  swaying  in 
the  saddle,  and,  taking  up  the  water  bag,  she 


226  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

poured  a  little  of  its  contents  on  the  crown  of 
her  head.  Then,  instead  of  drinking,  she  hung 
the  bag  where  it  had  been  before,  and  fixed  her 
hands  in  a  deathlike  clutch  on  the  pommel,  re- 
solved to  ride  that  way  until  she  fainted  dead 
away.  As  to  how  far  she  had  come,  she  could 
not  even  guess,  but  she  felt  that  her  furious 
riding  must  be  bringing  her  very  near,  and 
every  moment  she  searched  the  view  ahead 
more  closely  than  before.  Up  and  down  over 
the  swales  she  rode,  pausing  occasionally  on  a 
crest  to  peer  ahead,  and  then  plunge  down  the 
other  side,  urging  her  tired  animal  on  with 
voice  and  heel.  Once,  as  she  trotted  down  a 
slope,  she  found  the  saddle  sliding  down  on  the 
horse's  neck,  but  as  she  knew  only  vaguely  what 
the  trouble  was,  she  did  not  think  of  dismount- 
ing and  tightening  the  cinch.  She  had  begun 
to  repeat  some  words  to  herself. 

''You  must  not  drink T  Over  and  over 
again  she  said  it — monotonously,  untiringly — 
singing  it  and  shouting  it — striving  to  throw 
it  out  ahead  of  her,  so  that  if  there  were  such 
a  thing  as  telepathy,  the  thought  wave  might 
reach  his  mind.  "You  must  not  drink!''  she 
cried  frantically.  "You  must  live!  Live! 
Do  you  hear  me  ?" 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  227 

Her  horse  stumbled,  with  one  foot  in  a 
gopher  hole,  and  she  caught  him  up  savagely. 
He  broke  into  a  run,  and,  suddenly,  she  saw 
the  saddle  turning  under  her.  Too  startled  to 
know  what  to  do,  she  felt  herself  falling  off 
to  one  side,  and  in  another  moment  was  lying- 
unconscious  on  the  stone-crusted  ground  while 
the  horse  dashed  on.  When  she  finally  came 
to  her  senses  and  realized  what  had  happened, 
the  animal  was  nowhere  to  be  seen. 

The  woman  gazed  around  her  at  the  pano- 
rama of  bone-dry  desert  and  flaming  hills,  and 
threw  up  her  hands  to  heaven  with  an  inartic- 
ulate cry  for  help.  Her  head  was  muddied 
and  her  face  was  covered  with  dirt  where  she 
had  rolled  in  the  dust.  Her  dress  was  torn, 
and  a  bright  rivulet  of  blood  flowed  down  from 
her  cheek  from  a  cut  on  her  forehead.  But 
none  of  these  things  mattered  now,  and,  with 
her  eyes  wild  with  anguish  over  her  terrible 
predicament,  she  strove  to  collect  her  scattered 
senses  so  that  she  could  decide  which  way  to 
go.  Finally,  she  put  the  sun  behind  her  where 
it  had  been  before,  and  stumbled  away  through 
the  brush.  She  would  go  north,  as  she  had 
been  going  before  she  fell — and  he  must  not 
drink — he  must  not  drink! 


228  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

Her  foot  tripped  over  something,  and  she 
saw  the  water  bag  where  it  had  fallen  when 
the  saddle  turned.  The  stopper  was  still  in 
its  neck,  and  she  stooped  with  incredible  effort 
and  picked  it  up. 

''Richard!''  she  called.  "Here  is  water  for 
you !  Water — water,  Richard.  But  you  must 
not  drink  r 

A  mile  farther  and  now  the  sun  was  like  a 
furnace  mouth!  Around  her  the  Joshuas 
lurched  and  stuck  out  their  gnarled  arms  at 
her.  She  found  herself  lost  in  a  great  clump 
of  them.  One  caught  her  dress  and  seemed  to 
try  to  draw  her  nearer.  She  struck  out  at  it, 
terrified,  and  reeled  away. 

"Richard!  Richard!"  she  cri.ed.  "They're 
trying  to  take  the  water  away  from  me !  But 
you  must  not  drink  it,  even  if  I  bring  it  to  you. 
I'm  a  murderess,  Richard,  and  I'm  bringing 
you  poisoned  water.     Wait — oh-h-h,  zvaitT 

At  the  foot  of  a  high  swale  she  found  she 
could  go  no  farther,  and  sank  down  on  her  side 
in  the  hard  yellow  sand  of  the  wash.  She 
could  not  see  very  well  now,  and  the  clamor  in 
her  ears  was  that  of  a  thousand  boilers  being 
riveted  all  at  once. 

"I  wanted  you  to  wait,"  she  sobbed.     "You 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  229 

said  I'd  help  you  find  me  some  day.  I  laughed 
at  you  then — and  I  tried  to  kill  you,  too — ^but 
it's  all  happening  just  as  you  said.  I  said  I 
didn't  love  you — but  I  lied,  Richard — Rich- 
ard!" she  whispered  humbly.  "Will  you  ask 
me  again?" 

The  clangor  was  abating  in  her  ears  now. 
It  was  not,  however,  because  there  were  no 
more  boilers  to  rivet,  but  because  the  engine 
that  furnished  the  power  was  running  down. 
A  few  more  revolutions  and  the  noise  would 
cease.  Alva  thought  it  would  be  a  great  re- 
lief. 

And  so  the  first  time  she  heard  the  new 
sound  she  did  not  recognize  it.  It  was  a  thin 
sound,  and  very  faint  and  it  seemed  to  come 
from  a  long  way  off — the  clink  of  a  coffeepot 
and  a  pan  against  the  top  of  a  burlap-wound 
canteen.  But  when  it  came  a  second  time,  she 
struggled  to  her  knees  and  put  her  hand  to  her 
ear.  Another  clink  and  the  sound  seemed 
closer.  She  staggered  to  her  feet — ^her  eyes 
opened  wide  with  hope — she  stumbled  down 
the  arroyo  with  arms  outstretched. 

A  mouse-colored  burro  came  into  view 
around  the  end  of  the  swale.  It  walked  a  few 
steps  farther,  stopped,  sidled  off  to  one  side. 


230  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

and  looked  around.  A  few  feet  behind  stood 
another  burro  and  beside  it  a  man,  unfasten- 
ing something  from  its  pack. 

With  her  last  remaining  strength  she  ran 
forward,  cried  out  her  warning  and  fell  prone 
in  his  arms.  The  canteen  dropped  on  the 
ground  and  rolled  away. 

Her  eyes  opened  slowly. 

At  first  she  could  not  tell  where  she  was,  for 
everything  was  blurred,  but  she  soon  found 
that  she  was  lying  in  the  cool  shade  of  a  ledge 
with  part  of  his  pack  for  a  pillow.  Something 
cold  was  on  her  forehead,  and,  as  her  eyes 
cleared,  she  saw  him  wetting  a  second  hand- 
kerchief with  water  from  the  canvas  bag.  Her 
heart  leaped.  The  warning  cry  rose  to  her 
lips.  Then,  almost  as  quickly,  she  began  to 
relax.  Little  by  little  the  frightful  tension 
eased  and  in  another  moment  she  dropped  back 
on  the  rough  bed  with  every  anguish  dissolved 
forever  in  a  flood  of  heavenly  peace.  The 
thing  she  had  done  to  harm  him  had  proved 
the  single  cause  of  his  salvation.  The  poi- 
soned water  had  leaked  away. 

When  she  looked  up  again,  he  was  bending 
over  her,  his  face  worried  and  strained. 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  231 

For  a  long  time  she  was  silent.  As  she 
looked  up  into  his  face  her  eyes  were  only 
deep  pools  of  tears.  Helpless  under  the 
weight  of  her  sin,  she  might  not  try  to  discover 
either  what  he  suspected  or  what  he  knew. 
Perhaps  the  good-by  that  she  had  never  said 
might  as  well  be  spoken  now, — she  could  not 
tell.  She  only  knew  that  if  mortal  happiness 
were  ever  to  be  hers,  it  must  come  from  him. 
whom  she  had  tried  to  injure.  Yet  her  eyes 
were  brave  and  steadfast,  for  behind  them 
lay  the  strength  of  will  to  atone,  if  need 
were,  with  life  itself.  And  so  her  look  came 
straight  and  pure  from  her  pure  soul — asked, 
bravely  for  all  she  had  thrown  away — and  won 
it. 

She  put  up  her  hand  and  drew  his  face  down 
to  her  own. 

''You  said  Fd  help  you  find  me,  Richard,'' 
she  whispered,  ''and  here  I  am.  Fve  been 
wrong  from  the  start,  but,  please  God,  Fm 
right  now!  Will  you  forgive  me — and  kiss 
me,  Richard?" 

Some  hours  later  the  burros  were  headed 
home.  He  walked  beside  her  as  she  rode,  and 
now  the  long  miles  of  the  daytime  were  all  too 
short. 


2Z2  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

^'You'll  lose  the  Gun  Sight,  Richard,"  she 
said  remorsefully.  *'You  forgave  me  too 
soon/' 

"I  have  won  more  than  any  mine,"  he  an- 
swered soberly.  *'But  we'll  not  lose  it.  The 
claims  have  been  recorded.  We'll  be  there — 
both  of  us— in  the  Fall" 

Her  hand  sought  his  and  rested  in  it.  Her 
lips  tried  to  form  the  old,  old  vow : 

"  'Whither  thou  goest,  I  will  go.  Thy  peo- 
ple shall  be  my  people — '  " 

Her  voice  broke  over  the  solemn  words. 
She  was  only  a  girl,  after  all,  and  she  had  sud- 
denly begun  to  feel  terribly  alone.  It  was  a 
strange  life  on  which  she  was  entering — a 
strange,  strange  ending  to  all  her  plans. 

And  then  his  arm  went  round  her,  and  all 
her  troubles  passed  away.  Wherever  they 
might  go — whatever  might  happen — she  knew 
that  she  would  never  be  alone  again,  nor  would 
the  new  life  with  him  seem  strange.  She  was 
coming  to  woman's  full  estate;  already  its 
boundless  reaches  were  in  sight,  and  their 
glory  dimmed  the  dreadful  valley  that  she,  as 
well  as  he,  had  barely  escaped. 

And  so,  held  in  the  circle  of  his  arm,  she 
rode  up  the  last  swale  and  saw  Magnet.     The 


HEARTS  STEADFAST  233 

lights  were  out  and  the  moon  was  shining. 
The  tents  were  as  beautiful  as  driven  snow. 
It  was  Magnet,  and  yet  it  was  not  the  mad- 
house of  wickedness  and  distorted  images  that 
she  had  left  that  day,  for  she  was  seeing  it 
now  with  the  clear  eyes  of  the  man  beside  her, 
and  in  the  light  of  an  abiding  peace.  It  was 
where  love  had  found  her,  in  spite  of  herself, 
and  where  love  would  cleanse  all. 

She  drew  him  close  and  knew  he  understood 
her  thought. 

"I  have  been  a  sick  woman,  Richard." 

"The  desert  has  cured  you,  then,"  he  an- 
swered.    ''For  us  two,  it  has  been  a  friend." 

He  pondered  for  a  moment,  then  felt  in  his 
pocket  for  his  watch.  He  opened  it  and  held 
it  out  in  the  moonlight  so  that  she  might  see 
the  inside  of  the  case. 

She  saw  her  own  face. 

*TVe  waited  a  long  time  for  you,  Alva,"  he 
said  simply.  *T  knew  you  from  the  very  first. 
But  even  before  that,  I  knew  that  you  would 
be  the  woman  I  would  want." 

She  could  not  trust  herself  to  speak.  Her 
eyes  could  only  envelop  him  with  their  soft 
love  light.  She  slipped  the  picture  from  its 
hiding  place,  and  dropped  the  watch  underfoot. 


234  HEARTS  STEADFAST 

He  nodded  understandingly,  and  smiled, 
then  put  the  tiny  photograph  away  in  his  coat. 

"You  knew  me  ?  Then  you  know  what  I've 
thought — and  done?"  she  asked  directly,  for 
less  than  the  whole  truth  now  would  not  suffice. 

For  answer,  he  gathered  her  close  in  his 
arms,  the  light  of  a  great  wonder  in  his  face. 

*T  know — and  have  forgotten,"  he  said. 
"You  are  too  brave!  If  I  asked  you  to  tell 
me,  you'd  do  it  if  it  killed  you — and  that  would 
kill  me,  too."  He  paused  and  then,  with  an  in- 
stant's wonderful  illumination,  let  her  see  abid- 
ing sanctuary  for  her  tortured  soul.  ''We 
have  not  come  up  out  of  our  valley  to  look 
backr 

And  with  those  words,  the  door  to  the  past 
closed  forever — and  Alva  Leigh  came  back  to 
happiness  and  Magnet. 


THE   END 


i:B  3346 


IS-   1 

P'rn 


;  [  !il"l'li»V{' 


:l.  ai  Lit 


fiMig 


